Download Clarity X Manual English

English Manual
Clarity X

Safety information
1
Important safety instructions
2
Warning3
Caution4
Service5
EMC/EMI6
About this manual
Getting support
Before you get started
Register your product
Stay up-to-date on loudness
7
9
10
11
12
Unpacking and setup
13
Package contents
14
Setup15
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware16
Finding and installing TC Icon
software – Microsoft Windows
18
Finding and installing TC Icon
software – OS X
20
Clarity X: An introduction
Clarity X core features
Calibrated Listening
Visual feedback
Speech intelligibility
Hearing loss protection
Clarity X Clock and Jitter Rejection
Clarity X signal flow diagram
22
23
23
24
24
24
25
26
Clarity X –
Basic concepts and operation
Operating Clarity X
Hardware versions
Clarity X presets
27
28
28
28
Clarity X status indicators and ports
Front panel indicators
Front panel reset button
Back panel connectors
29
30
32
33
Setting up Clarity X
Networking basics and troubleshooting
Quick Setup
Keeping your Clarity X up-to-date
37
39
43
44
Basic operation using TC Icon software 45
TC Icon software – introduction
46
Basic TC Icon operation
47
TC Icon faders
48
TC Icon on-screen keyboard
49
Accessing Clarity X
Operating multiple computers and/or
TC HD devices in one network
Scanning and rescanning a network
for devices
50
Obtaining Clarity X status information
Clarity X status page
54
55
52
53
Setting up audio and syncing
57
Setting up audio and syncing – introduction58
Signal routing
59
Clock Setup
61
MADI setup
65
Speaker Set configuration
66
Configuration page
66
Bass Management page
68
Audio formats and bass management
modes – overview
69
EQ page
74
Phones setup
76
Speaker Set calibration
78
Speaker Set calibration – introduction
79
Calibration82
Speaker positions and Speaker Delay
85
Alternative sweet spots
87
The Library: Recalling, storing and
deleting settings
Studio, Project, Routing, Engine and
M2 presets
The Library concept
Recall page
Store page
Delete page
Bank page
88
89
92
93
94
96
97
Product
Clarity X
Product (firmware) version
1.2.00 – Build 3206
Document
Reference manual
Document version / date
2015-10-02
You can download the most current version of this manual from
the support page for Clarity X.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)a

Signal Source and
Speaker Set configuration
Main Edit page
Tone page
98
99
102
Clarity X Main view – Meters and
Operation104
Clarity X main view – introduction
105
Main view – left pane – page 1
106
Main view – left pane – page 2
108
Main view – right pane – page 1
109
Main view – right pane – page 2
111
Downmix and other processing functions112
Edit Format Page
113
Dose Metering
Hearing Loss
Sound Exposure
116
117
117
Clarity X Remote Control
Using the Remote Control
Configuring the Remote Control
121
122
124
M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 – introduction
LM8 – Basic use and setup
LM8 Radar Page
LM8 Main page
LM8 Setup page
LM8 Statistics page
LM8 log files
125
126
129
131
134
138
140
141
M1 Meter configuration
M1 – introduction
146
147
Preferences149
Preferences page
150
Clarity X firmware update and
Device Reset
Finding and installing Clarity X
firmware – Microsoft Windows
Finding and installing Clarity X
firmware – OS X
Resetting your Clarity X
TC Icon Setup
Accessing the Icon Setup pages
Info page
Devices page
Security page
Joystick page
UI (user interface) page
Color page
153
155
157
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
Appendix 1: Links and additional
information170
Support resources
171
TC Electronic on…
171
TC HD resources
171
Product-related information
171
Appendix 2: Acoustics
172
Introduction173
Sabine’s formula
175
Absorbers176
Diffusors177
Standing waves
178
Comb filtering
181
Rear wall cancellation
183
Subwoofers184
Bass management
185
The LFE Channel
186
Delaying monitors
187
Line-up and calibration
188
Technical specifications
191
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)b
Safety information
Safety information
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)1
Safety information
Important safety instructions
The lightning flash with an arrowhead
symbol within an equilateral triangle, is
intended to alert the user to the presence
of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of
sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to
the presence of important operating and
maintenance (servicing) instructions in
the literature accompanying the product.
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized
plug has two blades with one wider than
the other. A grounding type plug has two
blades and a third grounding prong. The
wide blade or the third prong are provided
for your safety. If the provided plug does
not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician
for replacement of the obsolete outlet.
tus has been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been
dropped.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked
on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where
they exit from the apparatus.
1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions.
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by
the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when
moving the cart/apparatus combination to
avoid injury from tip-over.
6. Clean only with dry cloth.
7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such
as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning
storms or when unused for long periods
of time.
14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way,
such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects
have fallen into the apparatus, the appara-
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)2
Safety information
Warning
►► To
reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock,
do not expose this equipment to dripping or
splashing and ensure that no objects filled
with liquids, such as vases, are placed on the
equipment.
►► Use
a three wire grounding type line cord like
the one supplied with the product.
►► Norwegian:
Apparatet må tilkoples jordet stikkontakt.
►► Swedish:
Apparaten skall anslutas till jordat uttag.
►► Finnish:
Laite on liitettävä suojakoskettimilla varus-tettuun pistorasiaan.
►► Be
advised that different operating voltages
require the use of different types of line cord
and attachment plugs.
►► Check
the voltage in your area and use the
correct type. See table below:
Voltage
110-125 V
220-230 V
240 V
Line plug according to
standard
UL817 and CSA C22.2 no 42.
CEE 7 page VII, SR section 107-2D1/IEC 83 page C4.
BS 1363 of 1984. Specification
for 13A fused plugs and switched
and unswitched socket outlets.
►► This
equipment should be installed near the
socket outlet and disconnection of the device
should be easily accessible.
►► Do
not install in a confined space.
►► Do
not open the unit – risk of electric shock
inside.
►► Mains
ground must be connected.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)3
Safety information
Caution
►► You
are cautioned that any change or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your authority to operate this
equipment.
►► To
completely disconnect from AC mains, disconnect the power supply cord from the AC
receptacle.
►► The
mains plug of the power supply shall remain readily operable.
►► Danger
of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only with the same or equivalent type.
►► Ventilation
should not be impeded by covering
the ventilation openings with items, such as
newspapers, tablecloths, curtains, etc.
►► Only
used at altitude not exceeding 2000 m.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)4
Safety information
Service
►► There
are no user-serviceable parts inside.
►► All
service must be performed by qualified
personnel.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)5
Safety information
EMC/EMI
This equipment has been tested and found to
comply with the limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a residential installations.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.
mission, helpful: “How to identify and Resolve
Radio/TV interference Problems.” This booklet
is available from the US. Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402, Stock No. 004000-0034-4.
For customers in Canada
This Class B Digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing
Equipment Regulations ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte
toutes les exigences du Réglement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada ICES-003.
If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can
be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following
measures:
►► Reorient
or relocate the receiving antenna.
►► Increase
the separation between the equipment and receiver.
►► Connect
the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected.
►► Consult
the dealer or an experienced radio/TV
technician for help.
The user may find the following booklet, prepared by the Federal Communications ComClarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)6
About this manual
About this manual
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)7
About this manual
This manual will help you learn understanding
and operating TC Clarity X.
To get the most from this manual, please read it
from start to finish, or you may miss important
information.
This manual is only available as a PDF download
from the TC Electronic website.
Please do not operate Clarity X before you have
made all connections to external equipment as
described in “Setting up Clarity X” on page 37.
In the subsequent sections of the manual, we
assume that all connections are made correctly
and that you are familiar with the previous sections.
To download the most current version of this
manual, view the product warranty, and access
the growing FAQ database for this product,
please visit the web page
tcelectronic.com/support/
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)8
About this manual
Getting support
If you still have questions about the product after reading this manual, please get in touch with
TC Support:
tcelectronic.com/support/
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)9
Before you get started
Before you get started
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)10
Before you get started
Register your product
Please register this product so we can inform
you about updates and other product-related
news. To register your product, please go to:
tcelectronic.com/support/
account-registration/registration/
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)11
Before you get started
Stay up-to-date on loudness
There are many aspects to loudness, and keeping track of all of them can be a challenge. This
is why TC Electronic has created a dedicated
loudness website, where all of these aspects are
outlined, explained and discussed. This site is an
answer to the question:
“What is loudness – and why is it important?”
Visit the Loudness website at:
tcelectronic.com/loudness/
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)12
Unpacking and setup
Unpacking and setup
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)13
Unpacking and setup
Package contents
Depending on the configuration you have purchased, the box should contain the following
items:
►► 1
x Clarity X unit
x Calibrated 3600A
TC Electronic Reference Microphone
►► 1
►► 1
x Clarity X Remote Control
►► 1
x Power cable
x AES breakout cable
(DB25 to 4 x XLR male, 4 x XLR female)
►► 1
x Analog breakout cable
(DB25 to 8 x male XLR)
►► 1
x LAN cable
for the Clarity X Remote Control (6 meters)
►► 1
►► 2
x UNC4-40 nuts for DB25 connectors
►► 1
x Quick Guide
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)14
Unpacking and setup
Setup
For basic setup information, see “Quick Setup”
on page 43.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)15
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware
Software: TC Icon and
Clarity X firmware
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)16
Operating Clarity X requires a TC Icon remote
(sold separately) or a computer running the TC
Icon software.
When you are working with a system involving
one or multiple Clarity X units, you are interacting
with two types of software:
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware
1.TC Icon software:
2.TC Clarity X firmware:
TC Icon is a software application that you install on the computer(s) which you are using
to access, configure, operate and update the
Clarity X unit(s).
Clarity X firmware is the software installed
on every Clarity X.
TC Icon software is available for Microsoft
Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
TC Icon software is free and can be installed
on multiple computers.
Every Clarity X comes pre-installed with the
most current firmware version available at the
time of production. You can download newer versions of Clarity X firmware from the TC
website. Firmware updates will contain bug
fixes and/or new features.
Clarity X firmware updates are free.
Downloading and installing TC Icon software
is described in this section of the Clarity X
manual.
Use TC Icon software installed on your computer (see above) to transfer firmware to your
Clarity X unit(s).
Downloading and installing Clarity X firmware
updates is described in “Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset” on page 153.
You should keep both the TC Icon software running on your computer and the software of your
Clarity X (the firmware) up to date. Using up-todate software versions ensures you benefit from
bug fixes and the latest features.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)17
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware
Finding and installing TC Icon software – Microsoft Windows
You can download the latest version of the TC
Icon software for Microsoft Windows from:
Depending on your browser type and configuration, a dialog may be shown asking you
what you want to do with this file.
tcelectronic.com/support/software/
“Extract” to extract the application to the
selected destination.
►► Launch
►► Choose
►► On
►► Click
“Save”.
the TC Icon application that you just
extracted by double-clicking its icon.
this page, locate the “Clarity X” section.
►► In
this section of the support page, look for
“TC Icon software” and click the button representing the latest version of the TC Icon software for Microsoft Windows.
The software will be downloaded to your
browser’s default download location. Usually,
this is the “Downloads” folder for your user account.
►► Go
to the folder containing the ZIP file you just
downloaded.
►► Right-click
the .ZIP file and choose “Extract
All…“ from the context menu.
A dialog box will allow you to specify where
the extracted files should be stored.
►► Accept
TC Icon will try to establish connections to all
connected TC devices on a local network, including your Clarity X.
If a connection cannot be established, please
refer to “Networking basics and troubleshooting” on page 39.
If you experience technical problems during
software download or installation, please ask a
person with administrator privileges on this computer for assistance.
the defaults or change the path.
After extracting the ZIP file, you will see a .CAB
(“Cabinet”) file in Windows Explorer.
►► Double-click
the .CAB file.
An “Icon” application file will be shown.
►► Right-click
the “Icon” application file and
choose “Extract…“ from the context menu.
Fig. 1: Clarity X software on the TC Electronic
software download page
In the dialog box that is shown next (“Select
destination”), select a folder where you can easily find the application – e.g., the Windows desktop.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)18
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware
Updating TC Icon
software (Windows)
To update the TC Icon software on your computer when a newer version is released,
►► quit
the TC Icon software if it currently running
on your PC,
►► download
and extract the newer version as
described in this section and
►► replace the currently installed version by copy-
ing the newer version over it.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)19
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware
Finding and installing TC Icon software – OS X
You can download the latest version of the TC
Icon software for OS X from:
tcelectronic.com/support/software/
►► On
this page, locate the “Clarity X” section.
►► In
this section of the support page, look for
“TC Icon software” and click the button representing the latest version of the TC Icon software for OS X.
Depending on your browser type and configuration, a dialog may be shown asking you
what you want to do with this file. Choose
“Save”.
The software will be downloaded to your
browser’s default download location. Usually,
this is the “Downloads” folder for your user account.
Fig. 3: TC Icon software app icon
►► Go
to the folder containing the file you just
downloaded.
►► Copy
the TC Icon application from the disk image to your hard disk by dragging it to the “Applications” folder, or to another folder where
you can easily find it.
If you are seeing a .ZIP file, double-click it to
extract its contents. However, your browser
may already have extracted the contents from
the .ZIP file automatically.
After the ZIP file has been extracted, you will
see a .DMG (“Disk Image”) file in the Finder.
►► Double-click
the .DMG file to mount this disk
image.
An “Icon” disk image containing an “Icon” app
will be shown.
Fig. 4: Moving TC Icon to the OS X
applications folder
►► You
can now unmount (eject) the disk image
by right-clicking it and selecting “Eject” from
the context menu.
Fig. 2: Clarity X software on the TC
Electronic software download page
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)20
Software: TC Icon and Clarity X firmware
Running TC Icon software
for the first time (OS X)
Fig. 5: Ejecting the TC Icon disk image
►► Launch
TC Icon by double-clicking the appli-
cation.
TC Icon will try to establish connections to all
connected TC devices on a local network, including your Clarity X.
Depending on your security preferences, you
may see a dialog telling you that the TC Icon application cannot be opened because it is from an
unidentified developer when you are launching tit
for the first time. If you see this dialog, close it,
then right-click the application’s icon and select
“Open” from the context menu. This will open
another dialog, allowing you to confirm that you
want to run the software.
Updating TC Icon software (OS X)
To update the TC Icon software on your computer when a newer version is released,
►► quit
the TC Icon software if it currently running
on your Mac,
►► download
and extract the newer version as
described in this section and
►► replace the currently installed version by copy-
ing the newer version over it.
If a connection cannot be established, please
refer to “Networking basics and troubleshooting” on page 39.
If you experience technical problems during
software download or installation, please ask a
person with administrator privileges on this computer for assistance.
Fig. 6: OS X security warning about
application from an unidentified developer
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)21
Clarity X: An introduction
Clarity X: An introduction
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)22
Clarity X is an extremely flexible monitor
controller, covering channel formats up to 7.1
surround. It also includes several advanced
meters, ensuring you will never have to compromise on the clarity and intelligibility of
your mix.
Clarity X helps you secure the best foundation
for your crucial mix decisions, including monitor
calibration, center channel balance, downmix
and loudness compatibility and other vital parameters.
Clarity X: An introduction
Clarity X core features
Calibrated Listening
►► One-stop
Our ears and brain react differently to various listening levels. Voices live in the mid-range – and
that has been important throughout evolution.
Accordingly, at low levels, our brain emphasizes the mid-range, while we allow more bass and
treble at higher listening levels.
calibrated listening – measurement microphone included.
►► Multiple,
high-precision meters for optimum mix decisions.
increase the intelligibility of your production.
►► Helps
Consequently, if you mix at low levels, you would
be likely to boost the low and high areas more
than you would at a higher listening level.
That is why you should always mix on a calibrated monitoring system: Playback at the same
SPL simply ensures that your mixes remain consistent.
The included measuring microphone is perfectly
calibrated for Clarity X.
For more information on calibration, see “Speaker Set calibration” on page 78.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)23
Clarity X: An introduction
Visual feedback
Speech intelligibility
Hearing loss protection
You should always mix with your ears first, but
having visual meters as well can be a great help.
When mixing content with spoken words, it is
absolutely crucial that what is being said is clear.
Yet this issue is the single most common complaint broadcasters receive today.
Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is quickly becoming a focal point in professional audio as well
as in a consumer context.
Clarity X gives you five dedicated meters co­
vering
►► Loudness/true-peak,
►► Center
channel balance,
►► SPL,
►► Downmix
►► Dose
Clarity X helps you create mixes with greater intelligibility in many ways, but a key component is
the meter showing the Center Ratio.
compatibility and
We have analyzed dialogs from film, drama and
TV shows to determine the ideal loudness balance between the center channel (foreground)
in a surround mix and the other channels (background).
usage.
On the loudness side, you get our brand new
LM8 that covers any channel formats up to 7.1
surround.
The best way to check downmix compatibility
is to hit the remote and listen to your mix in stereo, but with the Stereo deviation meter you may
save some precious time.
In short, let your ears be your pilot – but allow
your eyes to be your guide.
For more information, see “Clarity X Main view –
Meters and Operation” on page 104 and “M2 –
The LM8 Meter” on page 125.
If the actors mumble or the recording itself is
poor, there is little we can do. But we can help
you keep an eye on the general balance which
just may be what you need to always keep
speech intelligibility at its best.
Obviously, for audio professionals, their ears are
their most critical tools, and exposure to high
sound pressure levels on a daily basis can build
up over time and become a problem one day
both from a professional and a personal experience.
The EU’s Noise at Work directive and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC) have issued a set of recommendations for a certain dose of sound exposure over various time frames to prevent NIHL.
To help you monitor and keep track of your daily and weekly dose of sound, the built-in dose
meter of Clarity X will calculate and record your
dose and show you how many percent you have
used so far.
You might want to check your status at the end
of the day – and if you find a pattern of over-exposure, you’ll be glad that you have the chance
to take action before it’s becoming a serious
problem.
For configuring the Dosage Meter, see “Dose
Metering” on page 116 and “Exposure & dose
estimation section” on page 151.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)24
Clarity X: An introduction
Clarity X Clock and
Jitter Rejection
Digital audio signals rely on only two components: level and time.
We all know about levels (bits) – but timing is
equally important to avoid noise and distortion.
Jitter is unwanted variation of a digital audio signal’s timing. It is typically recognized by compromised dynamic range of A/D, D/A and sample
rate converters or by clicks and dropouts due to
interface breakdown.
A steady digital clock is crucial to the sound
quality – especially when one of the above conversions is performed. The clock stability and
jitter rejection of Clarity X is based on techno­
logy from TC System 6000 and our many years
of research providing absolute high-end performance.
The excellent jitter rejection technology of Clarity X is also capable of cleaning up a less-thanperfect digital signal from an external source,
thereby tidying up your entire studio timing and
optimizing performance. The jitter rejection in
Clarity X is placed exactly where you need it the
most: At the boundary between the digital and
the analog domain, where the D/A converters of
your Clarity X convert the signal going to your
analog speakers.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)25
Clarity X
Clarity X: An introduction
Clarity X signal flow diagram
Feature Diagram
Inputs
Outputs
Main
M2,
MADI,
AES,
16$ch
AUX,
2$ch
TOS,
2$ch$
ADAT,
8$ch
MIC,
SRC,1,
2.0$
5.1$
7.1
SRC,2,
2.0$
5.1$
7.1
SRC,3,
2.0$
5.1$
7.1
Signal,
Generator
Meters 7.1
LM8,,
Radar$Meter
Gain
True>Peak,
Meter
AV$Delay$
Solo$
Mute$
Phase$inv.
Gain
SPL,Meter
Dose,Meter,
Exposure
Gain
Center,Ra'o,
Meter,,
Source,
Select
Stereo,
DeviaEon
Clip
Speaker,
$Confidence$Check
2.0$
2.1$
2.2$
5.1$
5.2$
7.1
Integrity,
m/s$Check
SET,2,
Noise,Floor,
Zoom
2.0
5.1 >>
7.1
Analog,
8$ch
AES,
2.0$
2.1$
2.2$
5.1$
5.2$
7.1
Downmix
1.0
2.0
2.1
2.2
5.1
5.2
Output,Tools
Dim/Cut
Solo/Mute
64$ch
SET,1,
Calibration
Ref Levels
Level Offset
Bass Mngt
Sweet Spot
5 Band EQ
X-Curve
Phase
Delay
LM8$Radar$
Meter
SET,3,
2.0$
2.1$
2.2
Ph,
Auto Downmix to
Speaker Format
Output,Tools
16$ch
Phones,
2$ch
Output,Tools
Output,Tools
2.0
Speaker,
Select
RJ45,
Remote
Included
RJ45,
Ethernet$
100mb
GPIO,
Control
Protec'on
Included
Fig. 7: Clarity X signal flow diagram. For more information on a section, please click or tap the respective part of the diagram.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)26
Clarity X – Basic concepts and operation
Clarity X – Basic concepts
and operation
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)27
Clarity X – Basic concepts and operation
Operating Clarity X
Hardware versions
Clarity X presets
As you can easily see, Clarity X is a „headless
system“ – it has no front panel controls (with the
exception of the Reset button).
Two Clarity X hardware versions are available.
Clarity X comes with ready-to-use presets based
on international standards. More presets will be
made available as part of software updates from
the TC website. These presets are based on information from broadcasters around the world.
Clarity X is operated using
TC Icon software, which you can download from the TC Electronic website and
►► the
►► the
By default, Clarity X comes with AES inputs and
outputs. But as an option, you can choose to
add 64 channels via MADI.
You will need to pre-order Clarity X with the
MADI option, or send in your Clarity X unit if you
want to retrofit it at a later point.
Clarity X Remote Control.
While the Clarity X Remote Control allows you to
control your studio setup (e.g. by selecting configurations, muting and soloing monitors), you
will need TC Icon software to configure all Clarity X signal metering and processing features and
update your system.
If you feel that an important preset is missing or
that a given preset does not work as it should,
please get in touch with TC Electronic technical
support:
tcelectronic.com/support/
Fig. 8: Clarity X hardware options: With
MADI (top) and without MADI (bottom)
You can use the same version of the TC Icon
software to operate Clarity X and other professional broadcast products from TC Electronic
(e.g. a System 6000 MKII).
Accordingly, a significant part of this manual
covers operating Clarity X using TC Icon software running on a standard computer, and the
screen shots you see are taken from the OS X or
Windows versions of this software.
Please invest some time in learning TC Icon’s basic concepts – you will benefit from it when operating systems that may include many networked
TC signal processors.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)28
Clarity X status indicators and ports
Clarity X status
indicators and ports
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)29
Clarity X status indicators and ports
Front panel indicators
Fig. 9: Clarity X front panel
Clarity X has the following front panel status indicators:
►► Power
Running LED
Net LED
The Running LED indicates the status of the
Clarity X unit.
The Net LED indicates the status of the network
connection to a computer running TC Icon software or a hardware TC Icon.
Fig. 10: Clarity X front panel indicators
Running –
N/A
Running –
OK
Running –
Sys Error
TC Icon
message
►► Sync
Status
Startup (until all processing is running)
Green Startup completed, unit
available
Red
System Error
Grey
LED
►► Remote
LED
►► Net
TC Icon
message
►► Running
Status
Grey No computer or Icon con- nected
Green One or more Icons/Apps Net – This
connected
Icon(1),
2 Icons/
Apps(2)
…
8 Icons/
Apps(8)
G/G/ Frame identification – see Net – LED
Y/R
“Frame Identification pa- blinking
rameter” on page 56
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Clarity X status indicators and ports
Remote LED
Sync LED
The Remote LED indicates the status of the remote control (port).
The Sync LED indicates if synchronization to
the currently connected signal source has been
achieved.
Remote –
Unsupported
Status
Startup until I/Os are up
and runnning
Green Sync OK + all inputs OK
(No sample slips/repeats)
Yellow AES input sample slip/repeat observed
Grey
Red
No valid clock available
TC Icon
message
Remote –
Not Connected
Remote – OK
LED
Green Clarity X remote connected
Yellow Remote not supported
TC Icon
message
LED
Grey
Status
No Remote connected
N/A
Inputs OK
Input Slip
No Clock
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)31
Clarity X status indicators and ports
Front panel reset button
The Reset button on the front panel can be used
to reset the IP address of a Clarity X unit or to
reset Ethernet communication between Clarity X
and a computer when a communication error
has occurred.
Resetting the IP address
of a Clarity X unit
Resetting Ethernet communication
It may be necessary to reset the IP address of a
Clarity X unit. To do so, proceed as follows:
It may be necessary to reset Ethernet communication between Clarity X and a computer during
operation. To do so, proceed as follows:
►► Switch
►► During
off Clarity X by disconnecting the power supply.
►► Insert
a straightened paper clip or a similar
object into the “Reset” hole on the front panel
until it touches the button behind the panel.
►► Boot
the Clarity X by connecting the power
supply while still holding the straightened paper clip onto the Reset button.
operation, insert a straightened paper
clip or a similar object into the “Reset” hole
on the front panel until it touches the button
behind the panel, and press the button for
approximately 5 seconds until the LEDs start
blinking.
This will reset Ethernet communication without interrupting audio streams.
Clarity X will boot using its default IP address.
The default IP address is 192.168.1.[xx], where
[xx] is the last two digits of the device’s serial
number as printed on its back.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)32
Clarity X status indicators and ports
Back panel connectors
Fig. 11: Clarity X back panel connectors (shown with optional MADI ports)
Clarity X has the following back panel connectors:
MIC IN
Microphone input (calibrated)
►► Microphone
input (calibrated)
in (3.5mm stereo jack – unbalanced)
►► Analog Line/Monitor Out
(D-SUB – 8 channels)
►► AES Inputs & Output Channels 1-8 (D-SUB)
►► AES Inputs & Output Channels 9-16 (D-SUB)
►► Optical In (TOS-link)
►► GPIO
►► Ethernet 1
►► Ethernet 2
►► Remote in
►► Power inlet
Each Clarity X unit has a factory-calibrated, phantom-power-enabled microphone
input dedicated for speaker system calibration and measurements using the included TC Electronic 3600A Reference
Microphone. The maximum supported
cable length is 100 meters using standard
microphone cable.
The Clarity X unit itself may be mounted in a remote location, for example a machine room. For
fast and daily access, consider using extension
cables for the headphone, Line In and Mic In
from your rack to your console or DAW.
For more information about calibration, see
“Speaker Set calibration” on page 78.
►► Line
AUX IN
AUX in, Stereo, unbalanced analog
input (3.5 mm / 1/8“ stereo jack)
The auxiliary input on 1/8“ mini jack is intended
for playing signals from smartphones, laptops or
similar sources.
The input impedance is suitably low, enabling artifact-free connection/disconnection of the portable playback device.
For more information about properly aligning
Clarity X and replacement microphones, see
“Microphone calibration level display” on page
152.
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PHONES – Headphone connector
In recent years, even professional headphones
have been built and marketed with lower and
lower impedance, making them suitable for battery-based and portable playback devices. This
change represents a challenge to the headphone
amplifiers on the market. When connecting less
well-matching equipment, the user may experience:
►► „Hot“
signals, which may damage the users
ears or the headphones, or no ability to play
loud enough.
►► An
audible noise floor
►► An
uneven low frequency response, making
evaluation of your mix difficult
The headphone output on the Clarity X includes
a solution for all these issues. With an analog
load-matching circuit, Clarity X is able to match
noise level and hot levels to headphone loads
from >600 Ohm down to 8 Ohm without compromising the dynamic range for the specific headphone at all.
Due to the low output impedance, the headphone output also features a high damping
factor, which describes high headphones load
impedance relative to low amplifier output resistance. A high damping factor will result in flat
frequency response of the headphones, while
also reducing distortion and improving phase
response.
Clarity X status indicators and ports
! The Headphones output does not carry the
signal of the currently selected Speaker
Setup, but is treated as a separate output.
It has to be selected on the Main page or using the Remote Control.
This approach ensures that your headphones
will not be emitting a signal while they are
not being used, and that Dose Metering will
give proper results, as headphone usage can
be metered correctly. For more information,
see “Exposure & dose estimation section” on
page 151.
ANALOG LINE/ MONITOR
OUT (D-SUB – 8 channels)
You may consider using the analog line outputs
as the primary interface to your speakers – and
they are perfectly suited for that. These outputs
have been carefully designed with attention to
all relevant details such as clean noise floor, low
distortion, proper grounding and robust D/A conversion based on thorough research and experience from designing System 6000 and similar
broadcast and production products.
For more information about Clock and Jitter Rejection, see “Clarity X Clock and Jitter Rejection”
on page 25.
The DIM function that reduces the audio level by
18 dB is carried out in the analog domain. This
does also reduce the noise floor, preserving the
dynamic range of the original signal.
Maximum cable length supported is 50 meters.
Use high-quality, well-shielded balanced cables.
The analog output is based on a ground-sensing
design. For optimal robustness towards induced
hum and noise when interfacing to unbalanced
equipment, please refer to the illustration for
proper cabling.
Fig. 12: Balanced to unbalanced – proper
wiring
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AES IO Channels 1-8 &
AES IO Channels 9-16
Clarity X is a low-latency, synchronous device
running at 24 bit, with bit-transparent inputs and
outputs. This means there are no sample rate
converters on the inputs (which would lead to
unpredictable handling of True Peaks and could
add noise, distortion and delay).
All inputs are constantly monitored, and potential
sample slips or sample repeats are reported via
the TC Icon software and on the front panel user
interface – see “Sync LED” on page 31.
Clarity X status indicators and ports
OPTICAL IN – TOS-link
ETHERNET 1 & 2
In addition to the AES inputs/outputs, Clarity X
offers an optical input running SPDIF/AES format. The handling is identical to the AES inputs
and outputs with regards to bit-transparency and
monitoring.
Clarity X is equipped with 32 bit Ethernet interfaces fully compliant with the IEE 802.3u standard, supporting 10 and 100 Mbit/s (100Base-TX
ports).
Connect a computer running TC Icon software
or a hardware TC Icon device to one of these
ports using a “straight-through” cable with 8P8C
modular connectors (“RJ45”). A “crossover” type
cable is not required.
The Ethernet ports are used exclusively for connecting a controller (namely a computer running
TC Icon software). No audio signals are transmitted for processing over Ethernet ports.
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Clarity X status indicators and ports
Remote in
Power inlet
Connect the Clarity X Remote Control to this
RJ45 port using a standard Ethernet cable (one
such cable is supplied with the unit). The cable
wiring should be straight and not crossed. The
Remote port is a proprietary port that also supplies the power for the Remote. Do not use this
port for connections to a computer network.
Clarity X has a C13 type power inlet socket. It accepts 100 to 230 Volts AC at 50/60 Hz.
The Remote cable can be extended by using a
standard Ethernet “female/female-connector”
and a second Ethernet cable.
Maximum cable length supported is 100 meters.
Category 5 cables are sufficient.
For more information on setting up and using the
Remote Control, see “Clarity X Remote Control”
on page 121.
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Setting up Clarity X
Setting up Clarity X
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)37
Setting up Clarity X
Clarity X can be used in a variety of configurations and setups. However, as all TC Broadcast
processors in your system can be controlled
from a single computer running TC Icon software, even large and complex setups are basically operated in the same manner as the basic
setup described in this chapter.
For basic operation instructions, see “Basic operation using TC Icon software” on page 45.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)38
Setting up Clarity X
Networking basics and troubleshooting
You may setup and operate your Clarity X in a
simple networking environment – where you can
connect a computer and one Clarity X directly
using a standard Ethernet cable –, or your system may be more complex, involving several
computers a Clarity X and other TC devices.
Subnet mask and TCP/IP addresses
Either way, you are operating a system based on
TCP/IP – the same protocol suite the Internet is
built on. Accordingly, you need to follow basic
networking procedures when setting up your
system.
The default subnet mask of each Clarity X is
It is absolutely possible that a standard computer running the TC Icon software will detect
a Clarity X “out of the box” without problems.
However, if it doesn’t, there is most likely a subnet issue or an IP address conflict. In this case,
please refer to the following sections.
The subnet mask is a number that defines a
“group” of computers (or other devices) connected to a network. All units in this group must have
the same subnet mask.
255.255.255.0.
The TCP/IP address of each device connected to
a network has to be unique. An IP address consists of four decimal numbers (ranging from 0 to
255) separated by dots, e.g. 192.168.1.1
The default IP address of each Clarity X is
192.168.1.[nn],
…where [nn] is identical to the last two digits in
the Clarity X’s serial number (you will find the serial number of Clarity X on a label on the rear side
of the device). This way, multiple Clarity X’s can
be setup directly out of the box without having to
change their IP numbers.
If your computer is using the same IP address as
a Clarity X on the same network, you have two
options:
►► Alter
The first three numbers (e.g. “192.168.1”) must
be the same for each unit – but the remaining
number has to be unique in the subnet. I.e., no
two units in the subnet can have the same last
number.
the last octet (the last three numbers) of
your computer’s IP address or
►► Alter
the last octet of the Clarity X’s IP address.
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Changing your computer’s subnet
mask and TCP/IP address
Setting up Clarity X
If and where you can change the subnet mask
and IP address of your computer depends on…
Finding and changing the TCP/
IP address and subnet mask on a
computer running Windows
►► Go to Control Panel / Network Connections /
Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
►► the
►► Set
operating system you are using and
►► your
Finding and changing the TCP/
IP address and the subnet mask
on a computer running OS X
►► Go to System Preferences / Network.
►► Select
“Ethernet”.
►► Under
“Configure IPv4”, select “Manually”.
the TCP/IP address.
account privileges.
►► Set
the TCP/IP address.
In case of doubt, please consult your company’s
network administrator.
Fig. 13: Windows Internet control panel
Fig. 14: OS X Network preferences
For further information, please refer to you operating system’s integrated help system.
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Setting up Clarity X
Changing subnet mask and TCP/
IP address of a Clarity X
Changing the Clarity X IP address
►► Select the IP address parameter.
To change the subnet mask and TCP/IP address of a Clarity X, you need to access it using
a computer running the TC Icon software. This
means that in case of an IP address conflict
that keeps you from accessing Clarity X in
the first place, you need to change your computer’s IP first as described in the previous
section.
►► Enter
►► Launch
the TC Icon software on your com-
Fig. 15: Network identification page in TC
Icon software
puter.
►► Select
the new IP address.
the particular Clarity X you want to ac-
cess.
►► Click
on the Frame tab.
Fig. 16: Entering a new Clarity X IP address
►► Select
the System page.
►► Confirm
►► Select
the Setup subpage.
►► You
►► Select
Net.
by clicking Enter.
will be asked to confirm the new IP address.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)41
Setting up Clarity X
Changing the Clarity X subnet mask
►► Select the IP Subnet Mask parameter.
Resetting the IP address
of a Clarity X
►► Enter
You may need to reset the IP address of a Clarity X. This procedure is described in the section
“Front panel reset button” on page 32.
the new subnet mask.
►► Confirm
by clicking Enter.
If the serial number of a particular Clarity X ends
with “00”, the default IP address for this device
will be 192.168.1.100, as “00” is not a valid IP
number in all networks.
Fig. 17: Confirmation of new Clarity X IP
address
►► Confirm
by clicking Enter.
There is a small risk that two Clarity X units (or
other TC signal processors) on a network have
the same last two digits in the serial number and
thus will conflict after a reset. To resolve this issue, reset one Clarity X first and change its IP
address before connecting the second Clarity X.
►► Conform
the next dialog to reboot Clarity X
with the new IP address.
Fig. 18: Confirmation of Clarity X reboot
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Setting up Clarity X
Quick Setup
This guide applies for a simple setup as illustrated below.
Proceed as follows:
►► Unpack
Clarity X and install it in a stable,
well-ventilated space.
The network is scanned, and all connected
and operational devices will be listed on the
next screen.
►► Select
Clarity X and your computer using an
Ethernet cable.
the device you wish to access.
►► Connect
►► Power
up your computer and Clarity X.
you have not already done so, download and
install the latest version of the TC Icon software editor on your computer.
To have TC Icon detect more devices and assign them to one of up to eight slots, see “Assigning devices to the available slots” on page
164.
►► If
Ethernet
connection
►► Launch
the TC Icon software on your com-
puter.
Fig. 19: Connecting Clarity X to a computer
via Ethernet
If you cannot access Clarity X, please refer to
“Networking basics and troubleshooting” on
page 39.
That’s it – you are now ready to configure and
operate your Clarity X.
The following screen will appear:
Requirements for this setup are:
►► A
Clarity X
►► A
CAT5 Ethernet cable
►► A
computer equipped with an Ethernet adapter, running Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X
and the latest version of TC Icon software.
Fig. 20: Assigning Clarity X in TC Icon
►► Click
“Assign”.
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Setting up Clarity X
Keeping your Clarity X up-to-date
The latest version of the Clarity X software at the
time of production is installed on your Clarity X.
However, from time to time, software updates
are made available by TC, containing both bug
fixes and new features.
To update the software of your Clarity X, you will
need the TC Icon software.
Please download and install the most current
version of the TC Icon software from:
tcelectronic.com/support/software/
The TC Icon software is available for
►► Microsoft
►► Mac
Windows and
OS X.
Using TC Icon software, you can access your
Clarity X and update its built-in software (the
firmware), which is provided as a separate download.
Updating Clarity X firmware is described in
“Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset” on
page 153.
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Basic operation using TC Icon software
Basic operation using
TC Icon software
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)45
Basic operation using TC Icon software
TC Icon software – introduction
This section of the manual is a general introduction to operating Clarity X using the TC Icon
software.
In the following chapters we assume that you
have connected Clarity X and your computer
directly or as part of a network as described in
“Setting up Clarity X” on page 37.
Several Clarity X and other TC signal processors
(e.g. a System 6000 MKII), and computers running the TC Icon software can be connected and
operated at the same time as part of a standard
Local Area Network (LAN). The TC Icon software
is used to detect, configure and operate devices
from your computer.
If you encounter communication errors or cannot
detect or operate a device properly, please refer
to “Networking basics and troubleshooting” on
page 39.
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Basic operation using TC Icon software
Basic TC Icon operation
The TC Icon software interface has been optimized for use in real-time situations in broadcast
and post production environments (which usually are very different from standard desktop computing tasks and environments). Accordingly,
buttons are very prominent and clearly labelled
to ensure proper operation even in stressful situations. In addition, important parameters can
be assigned to on-screen faders, allowing for
precise control and immediate visual feedback.
The interface can be customized. Customizable
parameters include fader positions and user interface colors. For more information, please refer to the chapters “UI (user interface) page” on
page 167 and “Color page” on page 168 of
this manual.
TC Icon interface: Tabs versus pages
the tab buttons on the upper edge of the
TC Icon window to select a primary group of
functions.
TC Icon modes: Base and
Device operation
►► Use
►► Use
the page buttons on the left edge of the
TC Icon window to select specific pages.
The TC Icon software has two operation modes:
Base and Device operation.
►► Use
Base mode to select devices and configure the network and the TC Icon software
itself.
In Base mode, you will see the Select, Auto
and Setup tabs on the upper edge of the TC
Icon window. Most Base mode functions are
described in the chapter “TC Icon Setup” on
page 161.
►► Use
Device operation mode to operate the
currently selected device.
In Device Mode, you will see the specific tabs
for operating the currently selected TC device.
Switching between Base and
Device operation modes
To switch between Base and Device operation
modes, click the Icon symbol in the upper left
corner of the window.
Fig. 21: Icon symbol
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Basic operation using TC Icon software
TC Icon faders
The TC Icon software has large on-screen faders. They have several features that will help you
operate your Clarity X efficiently.
►► There
are six on-screen faders.
►► You
can change the position of the faders or
hide them completely – see “UI (user interface)
page” on page 167.
name of the parameter that a fader is
currently assigned to is displayed above the
fader.
Using Faders for fine adjustments
When a parameter is assigned to a fader, you
can choose between Normal and Fine adjustment mode.
►► In
Normal Adjustment mode, the fader range
will cover the full parameter range – e.g.
-24 dB to 12 dB for the Source Gain parameter.
►► The
►► In
Fine Adjustment mode, the fader range will
be smaller, allowing you to fine-tune around
the current value – e.g. in 0.1 dB steps for a
level parameter.
►► When
no label is shown above a fader, that
fader is currently not assigned to a parameter.
►► Fader
assignments and values will always reflect the current TC Icon page fader assignments and the last adjustments you made.
To switch a fader from Normal Adjustment mode
to Fine Adjustment mode or back, click the label
above that fader. Fine Adjust mode will be indicated by two triangles in the label field.
Fig. 22: Fader label (two triangles) indicating
Fine adjustment mode for the currently
selected parameter (Delay)
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Basic operation using TC Icon software
TC Icon on-screen keyboard
Clarity X allows you to store and rename presets,
assign labels to inputs and outputs and perform
other functions where text input is required.
When you access one of these functions, an onscreen keyboard will be displayed.
Fig. 23: TC Icon software – On-screen
keyboard
While they keyboard is being displayed, you can
either click the letters shown on-screen or use
your computer’s keyboard for character input.
When you are done, click the large Enter button
or press your computer keyboard’s Enter key.
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Accessing Clarity X
Accessing Clarity X
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)50
►► Connect
your computer and Clarity X as described in the “Setting up Clarity X” chapter.
►► Power
Accessing Clarity X
If a connected device is not detected, please
refer to “Networking basics and troubleshooting” on page 39.
up your computer and your Clarity X.
►► Click
►► On
your computer, launch the TC Icon software.
the icon representing the Clarity X to access it.
►► When
you do this for the first time or the system configuration has been changed, the following screen will appear:
Fig. 24: Assigning Clarity X in TC Icon
►► Click
“Assign”.
All currently connected TC signal processors
that are supported by the TC Icon software
should be detected and assigned to one of the
eight on-screen slots/locations.
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Accessing Clarity X
Operating multiple computers and/or TC HD devices in one network
In a more complex setup with multiple TC Icon
hardware remote controls and/or several networked computers running TC Icon software,
each of these TC Icon units and computers can
be used to connect to TC HD devices (System
6000 MKII, DB6, Loudness Pilot, UpCon) on this
network.
If your setup contains multiple TC HD devices,
you should name these devices unambiguously
so you don’t accidentally edit the settings of the
wrong device.
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Accessing Clarity X
Scanning and rescanning a network for devices
The scenario described above covers the first
time you boot up your system or when no connected units are assigned.
Scanning a network for devices
When…
►► Click
►► you
the TC Icon software, go to Setup / Devices
the Detect button.
make changes to your setup,
►► when
►► if
►► In
devices are powered up or down, or
there are connection errors,
devices may not be detected properly.
In this case, you should scan the network again.
Fig. 25: Setup – No devices detected
For further information, see “Devices page” on
page 164.
In the following sections of this manual, we assume that you are operating a basic system with
one Clarity X connected.
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Obtaining Clarity X status information
Obtaining Clarity X
status information
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Obtaining Clarity X status information
Clarity X status page
Please note that the LEDs on the front of a Clarity X will display basic status information as long
as the device is powered – see “Front panel indicators” on page 30.
Additional status information can be obtained
using TC Icon, where you can also define how
certain error states should be indicated on the
device.
To display status information about Clarity X, go
to Frame / System / Status.
Clock section
Status section
Source indicator
Indicates the source of the clock signal Clarity X
is currently following.
Running indicator
Displays the current state of the Clarity X power
supplies.
Lock indicator
Indicates whether synchronization has been
achieved.
The states and color codes shown here are the
same as those shown by the Clarity X Running
LED on the front panel of the device. See “Running LED” on page 30.
If no synchronization has been achieved, a red
LED will be shown in the upper right corner of
this field, and “Freewheel” will be shown.
Nominal Rate indicator
Shows the detected sample rate of the signal
Clarity X is synced to.
Network indicator
Displays the current state of the Clarity X network connection.
The states and color codes shown here are the
same as those shown by the Clarity X Net LED
on the front panel of the device. See “Net LED”
on page 30.
For information on clock setup and sample rate
ranges, see “Clock Setup” on page 61.
Remote indicator
Displays the Remote control connection state
(connected or not connected).
Fig. 26: Clarity X Status page
The states and color codes shown here are the
same as those shown by the Clarity X Remote
LED on the front panel of the device. See “Remote LED” on page 31.
Sync indicator
Displays the current Clarity X synchronization
status.
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Obtaining Clarity X status information
The states and color codes shown here are the
same as those shown by the Clarity X Sync LED
on the front panel of the device. See “Sync LED”
on page 31.
Frame Identification parameter
If you are operating a complex system with multiple Clarity X units, you may need to identify one
specific unit quickly. To do so, select the respective Frame using TC Icon software and then use
the Frame Identification parameter to have that
Frame identify itself with blinking Alert LEDs as
follows:
“Off” setting
This is the default setting.
“Green/Off”, “Yellow/Off”, “Red/Off”, “Green/
Yellow”, Green/Red”, “Yellow/Red”
The Alert LED on the front panel of the respective Frame will blink in the chosen color or color
combination, while the Alert indicator field will
read “LED blinking”.
Temperature indicator
The Temperature Indicator shows the current internal temperature of Clarity X
►► in degrees Celsius when Dimension Unit on
the Preferences page is set to Metric.
►► in degrees Fahrenheit when Dimension Unit
on the Preferences page is set to Feet.
For more information, see “Preferences” on page
149.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Setting up audio and syncing
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Setting up audio and syncing
Setting up audio and syncing – introduction
Configuring Clarity X as the heart of your studio
speaker setup and signal flow properly has three
main aspects:
the signal routing for inputs and outputs. Use the Frame / Routing page to configure inputs and outputs.
►► Defining
For more information, see “Signal routing” on
page 59.
basic digital audio parameters.
Use the Frame / System / IO page to configure
digital audio parameters such as clock master
and synchronization source.
►► Defining
For more information, see “Clock Setup” on
page 61.
the physical setup of your studio
speakers and related sound processing parameters such as bass management.
►► Defining
For more information on configuring your
speakers using Clarity X, see “Speaker Set
configuration” on page 66.
For basic information about setting up speakers, room acoustics, reflection, absorption
and related topics, see “Appendix 2: Acoustics” on page 172.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Signal routing
The Frame / Routing page allows you to see and
edit the assignments of the physical inputs and
outputs of Clarity X to the Source (“Src”) and
Speaker Set modules.
Editing input routings
Editing output routings
To assign a physical input to a Source Module,
proceed as follows:
To assign a Speaker Set Module to a physical
output, proceed as follows:
For a general signal flow overview, see “Clarity X
signal flow diagram” on page 26.
►► Click
the Edit button under Input so it is highlighted.
►► Click
For a list of inputs and output, see “Clarity X status indicators and ports” on page 29.
►► Click a Source Module to select it (e.g. “Src 3”).
►► Click
Fader 2 to select a channel in the selected Source Module (e.g. “Src3 C” (Source 3,
Center Channel).
the Edit button under Output so it is
highlighted.
a Speaker Set Module to select it (e.g.
“Set2”).
►► Use
Fader 1 to assign an Input Module and a
channel in that Input Module to the previously
selected Source Module channel – e.g. “AES
In 3” (AES Input, Channel 3).
►► Use
Fader 5 to select a channel in the selected Speaker Set Module (e.g. “Set2R” (Set 2,
Right Channel).
►► Use
currently selected Input Module, signal
channel and Source Module will be highlighted.
►► Use
Fader 6 to assign an Output Module and
a channel in that Output Module to the previously selected Speaker Set channel – e.g.
“AES Out 2” (AES Output, Channel 2).
►► The
►► The
currently selected Speaker Set Module,
signal channel and Output Module will be
highlighted.
Fig. 27: Frame / Routing page
The routing page displays the signal flow through
Clarity X from top to bottom, with the physical
inputs shown on top and the outputs at the bottom. When a valid signal is present at an input,
the small meters in the respective input and signal processing modules will display it.
Fig. 28: Routing an input channel to a Source
Module channel
Fig. 29: Routing a Speaker Set channel to a
physical output channel
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Setting up audio and syncing
Notes about input and output routing
►► Clicking a Source Module on the Routing page
will select this Source Module. This allows you
to easily switch and check inputs without
returning to the Main page.
can activate both Input and Output editing at the same time.
►► You
can route one input signal to multiple
Source modules.
►► You
►► You
can route signals from multiple Speaker
Sets to the same physical output. This allows
you to create “virtual Speaker Sets” – i.e.,
configurations with specific settings that repurpose your physical monitors, e.g. by defining a Stereo Setup with a custom EQ curve
that reuses the left and right speaker of your
5.1 setup.
►► Please
note that when Studio Setup editing
has been disabled on the Frame / Systems /
Setup page, the Output Edit button will be replaced by a Show button, and you will only be
able to select and display output routings, but
not change them. For more information, see
”Studio Setup Enable button” on page 152.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Clock Setup
To set up audio, go to Frame / System / I/O /
Clock.
Clock Status section
Use this page to…
Lock status indicator
Lock status states: Lock, No lock,
Freewheel, Internal, Bypassed
The Lock status indicator shows the overall reference clock status. The colors of the “LED” in
this field represent the Icon application warning/
error scheme, which is used for alarms on e.g.
Icon, the Clarity X front UI, GPO and SNMP.
►► display
information about the status of the incoming digital audio signal,
►► configure
synchronization setup parameters.
“Lock” (green LED / OK)
Clarity X has obtained lock to the reference signal set in the Sync Source field.
“No Lock” (red LED / Error)
“No Lock” is typically displayed when there is no
signal present on the Input that Clarity X is set to
lock to, or if the incoming sample rate is outside
the legal range (48 kHz +1.7 % / -1.3 %) and the
Clock Fallback parameter is set to Halt.
Fig. 30: I/O setup – Clock page
“Freewheel” (red LED / Error)
“Freewheel” is displayed when there is no signal present on the Input that Clarity X is set to
lock to, or if the incoming sample rate is outside
the legal range (48 kHz +1.7 % / -1.3 %) and the
Clock Fallback is set to Freewheel.
“Internal” (yellow LED / Warning)
“Internal” is displayed when Clarity X is set to
sync to its internal referenced master clock at
48.000 kHz.
“Bypassed” (yellow LED / Warning)
“Bypassed” is displayed when the Clarity X
hardware bypass relay has been activated.
Sample Rate indicator
The Sample Rate indicator field displays the
sample rate of the sync source Clarity X is currently following. Sample rate is measured and
displayed with 1 Hz precision (21 PPM @ 48 kHz).
Input State indicators (AES, TOS, MADI)
The Input State indicator labels and LEDs show
the status of the various inputs. States are displayed as follows:
Green LED
A green “LED” indicates that a signal is present
and synchronous at the respective input.
Yellow LED
A yellow “LED” indicates that a signal is present and running asynchronously relative to the
sync source. This typically happens when the
upstream device is running at an internal master
clock rate and is not locked to the house clock.
Grey LED
A grey “LED” indicates that no signal is present at the respective input or that the incoming
sample rate is outside the legal range (48 kHz
±0.38 %).
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N/A label (MADI)
Without the MADI option installed, the Input
State for MADI will be N/A (not available) with a
gray LED.
56 or 64 label (MADI)
This is the number of available channels in 44.1
to 48 kHz for the incoming MADI stream.
28 or 32 label (MADI)
This is the number of available channels in 96
kHz for the incoming MADI stream.
Green LED (MADI)
Input is in sync.
Yellow LED (MADI)
Sample slip/repeats have been detected on the
MADI input.
Setting up audio and syncing
Master Clock and AES Setup section
All preselection settings made in this section are
stored as part of Routing (and Project) presets
together with the Clarity X input routing.
For more information on storing data in Clarity X,
see “The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting
settings” on page 88.
Clock Master parameter
Settings: External (default), Internal
Use the Clock Master parameter to set whether
Clarity X should be referencing an incoming external clock source or an internal crystal running
at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.
Sample rate range buttons
(44.1-48 and 44.1-96)
Click a button to select the sample rate range
that Clarity X will accept: 44.1 to 48 kHz or 44.1
to 96 kHz.
Notes about working with 96 kHz
Please note that running your system at 96 kHz
introduces some limitations. Accordingly, if you
do not intend to run your system at 96 kHz, or if
you work with film 7.1, you can select the 44.1-48
range, which ensures that the full Clarity X feature set will be available to you at all times.
If you sometimes or primarily run 96 kHz, you
may wish to have a constant feature set available
for all sample rates. In this case, you should select the 44.1-96 range.
►► External
reference is mandatory in a broadcast installation and therefore the default setting.
►► Internal
reference is typically only for test use,
or when working with analog signal sources
only.
Internal Rate parameter
Settings: 44,1 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz*
If you have set the Clock Master parameter to
Internal, you can use the Internal Rate parameter
to set the internal clock rate of Clarity X.
If you select the 44.1-96 kHz range, set the Clock
Master parameter to “External” and set the External Clock Accept Rate parameter to “Automatic”. These settings ensure that Clarity X will
automatically follow the incoming sample rate at
44.1, 48 or 96 kHz. This may be convenient in a
studio setup where the audio host program is
determining the sample rate. If you set the Clock
Freewheeling to “Audio Muted”, you will may stabilize the total system sample rate shift behavior
even further. For more information, see “Clock
Freewheeling parameter” on page 63.
* The 96 kHz option is only available when you
have selected the 44.1-96 Sample range button.
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Sync Source parameter
Settings: AES 1/2, AES 3/4, AES 5/6,
AES 7/8, AES 9/10, AES 11/12, AES
13/14, AES 15/16, TOS 1/2, MADI
Use the Sync Source parameter to select the external signal source that Clarity X should sync to.
When the Clock Master parameter is set to “Internal”, the Sync Source setting is irrelevant.
However, you should be aware that you can use
this parameter to preselect a sync source that
will be used when you switch Clarity X AES directly from Internal to External Sync.
External Clock Accept rate parameter
Settings: 48 Only, 44.1 Only, Automatic
When you have set the Clock Master parameter to External, you can use the External Clock
Accept rate parameter to select the sampling
rate(s) Clarity X will accept from the external sync
source.
When selecting one of the “Only” rates, Clarity X
will spend less time on judging if the incoming
rate is valid. Accordingly, lock-up time may be
shorter.
These “Only” settings can also minimize the general disturbances (during lock-up) on the digital
outputs of Clarity X. This is beneficial if speakers are being fed from Clarity X’s digital outputs.
These settings may also be beneficial when used
in a critical live setup to ensure that downstream
disturbances are minimized.
Setting up audio and syncing
48 Only setting
Clarity X will only lock to incoming signals running at 48 kHz. This may be a good choice when
used in a broadcast setup where everything is
running synchronously at 48 kHz.
44.1 Only setting
Clarity X will only lock to incoming signals running at 44.1 kHz.
96 Only setting
Clarity X will only lock to incoming signals running at 96 kHz.
Automatic setting
Clarity X will automatically lock to incoming signals running at either 44.1 or 48 kHz. This setting
is convenient if you work with projects with different sample rates in a typical post-production
studio setup. Combined with the Clock Freewheeling parameter set to Audio Muted, this
configuration is very flexible, while the risk of audio glitches in the studio reaching the speakers
during sample rate changes is minimal.
In Automatic mode, obtaining lock to a digital
reference signal may take Clarity X a little longer.
Clock Freewheeling parameter
Settings: Audio Unmuted, Audio Muted
Use the Clock Freewheeling parameter to specify how Clarity X should behave when the no external sync source is present.
Clarity X is the last element in the signal chain
before your speakers. This is why we put a lot of
effort into ensuring consistency and reliability on
the digital outputs, which can be trickier to handle than analog outputs. The Clock Freewheeling
technology is part of these efforts.
When sync is lost, Clarity X will continue running
on the “last good rate”. If possible, Clarity X will
run on a 96 bit-precision version of the last good
sample rate that the device received. This will
only generate few potential sample slips downstream and on the inputs (which may still receive
audio), so the audio quality is not significantly
reduced.
However, in some borderline cases it may not
be possible to calculate the last good incoming
sample rate. In such a situation, Clarity X will revert to the internal 48 kHz clock, and audio will
still be sent through. Expect more sample slips
in such a situation.
Audio Unmuted setting
When sync is lost and the Clock Freewheeling
parameter is set to Audio Unmuted, Clarity X will
continue running on the “last good rate” as described in the previous paragraph.
Use this setting if you work in a live situation and
would rather accept a compromised audio signal
when sync is lost (with sample slips in the audio
stream) than having no signal at all.
Audio Muted Setting
When the sync source is not present and the
Clock Freewheeling parameter is set to Audio
Muted, all AES outputs are turned off – meaning
no audio data and no AES carrier (no clock) are
being sent out.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Use this setting if you prefer to stop audio and
clock output completely in a reference sync error
situation. In this situation, the input signals are
also turned off, and accordingly, meter activity
will cease.
With both settings, Clarity X will revert to the reference input signal (as set with the Sync source
parameter) once it becomes available again. The
changeover will be handled as smoothly as possible on both audio and clock.
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Setting up audio and syncing
MADI setup
Use the MADI page to monitor and configure
MADI-related parameters. These options are
only available when the optional MADI card is
installed.
MADI Preselect Channels section
The main function of this page is to allow you
a preselection of 24 channels which are made
available on the Routing page. All of the incoming MADI channels can be routed to all of the 24
Router channels.
►► 1-32:
32 channel format 96 kHz MADI
received
►► No
license available:
No MADI license installed. Contact TC
Electronic support for license purchase. The
Clarity X MADI hardware is installed.
►► No
MADI Router Ch. parameter
Use this parameter to select one of the 24 audio channels that are presented on the Routing
page.
Fig. 31: I/O Setup – MADI page
MADI In Channel parameter
Use this parameter to select the incoming MADI
channel that should be assigned to the respective Clarity X Routing channel. Depending on the
incoming format and sample rate, you can make
a selection from 28, 32, 56 or 64 channels.
MADI – Available Channels display
Available MADI channels are displayed here as
follows:
card installed:
No MADI hardware card installed. Contact
TC Electronic support for an upgrade. See
“Getting support” on page 9.
MADI – Available Channels LED
Input state is displayed as follows:
►► Red:
no input
►► Yellow:
slip/repeats
►► Green:
signal in sync
►► “N/A”
and red LED: no MADI input
►► 1-56:
56 channel format 44.1 or 48 kHz MADI
received
►► 1-64:
64 channel format 44.1 or 48 kHz MADI
received
►► 1-28:
28 channel format 96 kHz MADI
received
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Setting up audio and syncing
Speaker Set configuration
Configuration page
To define and use Speaker Sets, you need
to activate Studio Setup on the Preferences
page.
Use the configuration page to define and name
a Speaker Set.
For more information, see “Studio Setup Enable
button” on page 152.
Configuring a speaker set
►► Select
the Speaker Set you want to define
using one of the three Set buttons on the left
side of the screen (Set1, Set2, Set3).
►► Go
to Setup / Config.
►► Select
Once you have activated Studio Setup, you can
select a Speaker Set by clicking the respective
button (“Set1” to “Set3”) and define its settings
as described in the following section of the manual.
the correct configuration from the list.
Available settings for Sets 1 and 2 are:
►► Stereo,
No Sub
1 Sub
►► Stereo, 2 Subs
►► 5 Channels, 1 Sub
►► 5 Channels, 2 Subs
►► 7 Channels, 1 Sub
►► Stereo,
Fig. 32: Speaker Set Configuration page for
Speaker Setup 1
Available settings for Set 3 are:
►► Stereo,
No Sub
1 Sub
►► Stereo, 2 Subs
►► Stereo,
►► Click
the Assign Config Button.
! Assigning a configuration will erase all previously set Speaker Set data, including speaker
calibration and equalizer settings.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Ready button
When you have calibrated a Speaker Set, click
the Ready button.
Defining a Speaker Setup as “ready” by clicking
the Ready button means that you consider the
setup as reliable with regards to reference level,
speaker parameters etc. This affects parameters
and core functions such as Dose Metering. Dose
Metering is only possible when a Speaker Set
is known to be properly calibrated.
For more information, see “Speaker Set calibration” on page 78 and “Dose Metering” on
page 116.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Bass Management page
Bass management is a very important and useful
tool – and it is in general an absolute necessity
if you want to work with a five channel setup in
a small room. The bass management system is
designed to reproduce the bass contents from
all main channels using a subwoofer.
Bass Management section
Clarity X provides several bass management
modes.
! Please note that the parameters in the Main
Channels section as described in the following section will change based on the selected
Bass Management Mode.
Please note that bass management is only available when you have configured a Speaker Setup
including one or more subwoofers.
For more information about bass management,
see “Bass management” on page 185.
Mode parameter
The setting of the Bass Management Mode parameter affect the other parameters on this page.
Off setting
To deactivate Bass Management, set the Bass
Management Mode parameter to Off. Setting
Bass Management Mode to Off will disable all
other parameters on this page.
Extract setting
To extract the bass signal from the incoming main channels to the output subwoofer
channel, set the Bass Management Mode parameter to Extract.
When to use Extract Mode
A typical application for Extract Mode would be
playback over main speakers that are too small
to reproduce bass signals adequately. In this
case, you can use Extract Mode to feed a dedicated subwoofer.
Distribute setting
To distribute the incoming LFE signal to the
output main channels and sub channel, set
the Bass Management Mode parameter to Distribute.
For more information about the LFE channel, see
“The LFE Channel” on page 186.
When to use Distribute Mode
You might want to use Distribute Mode if your
main speakers are big enough to play back sub
bass signals, and you don’t have a dedicated
subwoofer in this setup.
Fig. 33: Bass Management page, Bass
Management set to Extract
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Setting up audio and syncing
Audio formats and bass management modes – overview
Inactive Mode – 2.0, 2.1, … 7.1
Inactive Mode – 5.2
Main Channels
Main Channels
In
Out
In
Out
(from DMix)
(to Gain/EQ)
(from DMix)
(to Gain/EQ)
LFE Channel
LFE channel
SubL & SubR
LFE Distribute
LFE to SubL & SubR
according to gains
Extract Mode – 2.1
L&R
Extract Mode – 2.2
L&R
L&R
Lo Cut
In
(from DMix)
L&R to Sub
(L&R
channels to
Sub
according
to gains)
Sub
Hi Cut
L&R
Lo Cut
Out
In
(to Gain/EQ)
(from DMix)
L&R to Sub
(L&R
channels to
Sub L &
Sub R
according
to gains)
Out
Sub L & Sub R
(to Gain/EQ)
Hi Cut
Fig. 34: Audio formats and Bass Management modes – overview
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Setting up audio and syncing
Multi-channel downmix – overview ctc.
Extract Mode – 5.1, 7.1
Extract Mode – 5.2
Main Channels
Main Channels
Lo Cut
Main Channels
Lo Cut
In
(from DMix)
Sub
Channel
Main
Channel
Downmix
(Main to Sub
according
to gains)
Hi Cut
Out
In
(to Gain/EQ)
(from DMix)
Sub Mix
SubL
&
SubR
Main
Channel
Downmix
(Main to Sub
according
to gains)
SubL
&
SubR
Out
(to Gain/EQ)
Hi Cut
Sub Mix
LFE Channel
LFE Channel
Distribute Mode – 5.1, 5.2, 7.1
Main Channels
Lo Cut
In
(from DMix)
Hi Cut
LFE
Distribute
(Mix LFE to
all channels
according
to gains)
Out
(to Gain/EQ)
LFE Channel
Fig. 35: Audio formats and Bass Management modes – overview ctd.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Main Channels section
(Bass Mode set to “Off”)
Levels section
(Bass Mode set to “Off”)
With Bass Mode set to Off, this section is disabled.
With Bass Mode set to Off, this section is disabled.
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Main Channels section
(Bass Mode set to “Extract”)
Lo Cut (Main) parameter
Use the Lo Cut (Main) parameter to set the frequency for the low cut filter that will be applied
to the main channels when Bass Management
is active.
Lo Order (Main) parameter
Use the Lo Order (Main) parameter to set the
slope for the low cut filter that will be applied to
the main output channels when Bass Management is active.
Hi Cut (Sub) parameter
Use the Hi Cut (Sub) parameter to set the frequency for the high cut filter that will be applied
to the subwoofer channel when Bass Management is active.
Setting up audio and syncing
Main Channels to Sub section
(Bass Mode set to “Extract”)
For a 5.1 speaker configuration, this section
contains the following parameters: Left / Right /
Center / LFE / Back L / Back R Level.
For a 7.1 speaker configuration, this section
contains the following parameters: Left / Right
/ Center / LFE / Back L / Back R / Side L / side
R Level.
For more information, see “Configuration page”
on page 66.
Use these parameters to define the signal amount
that should be routed from the respective 5.1 or
7.1 signal component to the subwoofer(s) in this
Speaker Set.
Hi Order (Sub) parameter
Use the Hi Order (Sub) parameter to set the
slope for the high cut filter that will be applied to
the subwoofer when Bass Management is active.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Main Channels section
(Bass Mode set to “Distribute”)
LFE section
(Bass Mode set to “Distribute”)
Lo Cut (Main) parameter
Use the Lo Cut (Main) parameter to set the frequency for the low cut filter that will be applied
to the main channels when Bass Management
is active.
Hi Cut parameter
Use the Hi Cut (Sub) parameter to set the frequency for the high cut filter that will be applied
to the incoming LFE channel before it is distributed to the main channels when Bass Management is active.
Lo Order (Main) parameter
Use the Lo Order (Main) parameter to set the
slope for the low cut filter that will be applied to
the main output channels when Bass Management is active.
Hi Order (Sub) parameter
Use the Hi Order (Sub) parameter to set the
slope for the high cut filter that will be applied to
the incoming LFE channel before it is distributed
to the main channels when Bass Management
is active.
LFE to Main Channels section
(Bass Mode set to “Distribute”)
For a 5.1 speaker configuration, this section
contains the following parameters: Left / Right /
Center / LFE / Back L / Back R Level.
For a 7.1 speaker configuration, this section
contains the following parameters: Left / Right
/ Center / LFE / Back L / Back R / Side L / side
R Level.
For more information, see “Configuration page”
on page 66.
Use these parameters to define the signal
amount that should be routed from the source
signal’s LFE channel to the respective speakers
in the 5.1 or 7.1 Speaker Set.
For more information about the LFE channel, see
“The LFE Channel” on page 186.
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Setting up audio and syncing
EQ page
Use the EQ page to set equalization for each
speaker in the current Speaker Set.
Channel Selection
Using the Equalizer
Channel Select parameter
Use the Channel Select parameter to select a
channel for equalization. The number of channels depends on the speaker configuration you
have set on the Configuration page.
Activating or deactivating a frequency band
To activate/enable a frequency band, click the
rectangular Details field for this band.
For more information, see “Configuration page”
on page 66.
The EQ encompasses five frequency bands for
each channel.
Fig. 36: EQ page with Band 3 deactivated
and Band 5 selected for editing
An active frequency band is represented by a
white box, an inactive band is shown as a gray
box.
Editing the settings of a frequency band
To edit the settings of a frequency band, click
the round button showing that frequency band’s
frequency.
The frequency band parameters will be mapped
to Faders 1, 2 and 3 for editing.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Copying EQ band settings from
one channel to another
To copy the EQ settings (type, frequency, gain,
off/on status for all EQ bands) from one speaker
to another speaker,
Frequency band parameters
►► use
Filter type parameter
Use this parameter to set the filter type.
the Channel Select parameter to select
the speaker with the settings you want to
copy,
►► press
the Copy button
►► select
the target speaker,
►► press
the Paste button.
! You can also copy EQ band settings from a
speaker in one Speaker Setup to a speaker in
another Speaker Setup.
The following parameters are available for editing
when a frequency band has been selected.
For frequency bands 2, 3 and 4, select a Parametric Band with a bandwidth slope between 0.1
Octave and 4 Octaves.
For frequency bands 1 and 5, you can also
choose between a Shelving type (3 to 6 dB/
Octave) and Cut filters (Bessel and Butterworth
types)
Filter frequency parameter
Use this parameter to set the filter frequency.
Bypassing the equalizer
To bypass the equalizer for the currently selected speaker, press the Bypass button in the lower
right corner of the EQ page.
Filter frequency gain parameter
Use this parameter to set the filter frequency.
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Setting up audio and syncing
Phones setup
Use the parameters on the Frame / Phones page
to configure the Headphones output (labeled
“Phones”) on the back of your Clarity X correctly
for the connected headphone set.
Headphones Levels and
Impedance section
An introduction to headphone calibration
As a Clarity X user, you know that calibrated listening is extremely important for a lot of reasons.
This doesn’t change when working with headphones. Accordingly, headphones have to be
calibrated as well to ensure reliable results.
Obviously, headphones cannot be calibrated using a microphone. This is why we have come up
with a different approach.
Fig. 37: Frame / Phones page
For more information about using a headphone
set with Clarity X , see “PHONES – Headphone
connector” on page 34.
TC has analyzed the most commonly-used headphones in pro audio and created pre-calibrated
presets for them. Use the presets available from
the Frames / Phones page to ensure you can enjoy a calibrated listening experience no matter
whether you are using monitors or headphones.
Simply select the vendor and model of your
headphones.
6-800 Ohm. This technology is called Variable
Impedance Drive (VZD). It is capable of handling
the a factor of more than 70x between the lowest
and highest headphones impedance.
Vendor parameter
Use the Vendor parameter to select the Vendor of the currently used headphones. This will
populate the Model parameter with all calibrated
models.
Model parameter
Use the Model parameter to select the currently
used headphone model.
Only models from the vendor you have selected with the Vendor parameter that have been
calibrated by TC are available. If your particular
headphone set is not available, please set the
Vendor to “Other” and enter the relevant parameters yourself.
Once you have set the headphones vendor and
model, you can enjoy equal SPL levels when you
switch between your calibrated speakers and
headphones, making it easy to compare your
mix between speakers and headphones – just as
you would do when switching between two sets
of calibrated speakers.
If your headphone set of choice is not part of the
Clarity X headphones database, you can enter
the relevant parameters yourself. Clarity X can
handle calibration of any headphone set from
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The three following parameters are only applicable for redefined headphone presets from the
internal Clarity X database.
Impedance display/parameter (top)
The top Impedance display/parameter on the
Frames / Phones page will show the impedance
for the currently selected headphones preset.
►► If
the selected model only has one impedance
setting, this parameter cannot be changed.
►► If
the selected model comes in different impedance variants (such as the Beyerdynamic
DT990), you can use the parameter to select
the correct impedance.
Gain Trim parameter
Setting: -6 to 1.5 dB
Use the Gain Trim parameter to trim the headphone signal gain for the currently selected
headphones preset. This setting is taken into account for Dose calculation.
Balance parameter (top)
Setting: -6 dB Left to -6 dB Right
Use the upper Balance parameter to adjust the
Stereo balance for the currently selected headphones preset.
Setting up audio and syncing
The three following parameters are only applicable when the Vendor parameter has been set
to “Other”, i.e. when you are configuring headphones that are not defined in the internal Clarity X database.
Impedance parameter
Settings: > 275 Ohm, 50-300 Ohm,
25-100 Ohm, 8-50 Ohm
Use the Gain parameter to adjust the headphone
impedance if you have set the Vendor parameter
to “Other”, i.e., if you are adjusting the impedance setting for headphones that are not part of
the Clarity X database.
Gain parameter
Setting: -30 to 0 dB
Use the Gain parameter to adjust the headphone
signal gain if you have set the Vendor parameter
to “Other”, i.e., if you are adjusting the gain setting for headphones that are not part of the Clarity X database.
Balance parameter (bottom)
Range: 6 dB L to 0.1 L, Center, 0.1 R to 6 dB R
Use the lower Balance parameter to adjust the
Stereo balance if you have set the Vendor parameter to “Other”, i.e., if you are adjusting the
balance setting for headphones that are not part
of the Clarity X database.
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Speaker Set calibration
Speaker Set calibration
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Speaker Set calibration
Speaker Set calibration – introduction
Why is calibrated listening important?
Calibrated listening is fundamental, giving you
many crucial benefits. Most of them have to do
with consistency, which is absolutely essential
when it comes to delivering great-sounding mixes. Your aim should be to ensure that your mix
will sound great not just in this room on these
speakers for this particular format – but every
time, for any delivery format.
Making sure that you mix at the same SPL level
in every session on every day is essential because you are likely to mix quite differently at
different SPL levels. If you calibrate your system,
you simply will be able to achieve more consistent mixes.
Fig. 38: Level differences when mixing at
different sound pressure levels
Calibrated listening ensures…
►► Consistency
between rooms: Create the
same reference level across different mixing
studios and editing suites.
►► Consistency
For example, as you can see from the frequency
charts below, if you mix at a 60 dB SPL, there is
a level difference of 26 dB between 100 Hz and 1
kHz. But when you are mixing at 80 dB SPL, the
difference is only 18 dB.
Accordingly, if you mix at 60 dB SPL one day
and above 80 the next, your mixing decisions will
probably not be consistent even if the content is
similar or even identical.
between sessions: Ensure the
same reference level every day of the week.
►► Consistency
between Speaker Sets: Mix
at the same reference level when you switch
between Speaker Setups and audio formats.
In this chapter, you will learn how to calibrate
your Speaker Setups properly.
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Calibrating a Speaker
Set – Basic Steps
Calibrating a speaker set involves the following
steps:
1. Make all audio connections, including the
Reference Microphone.
2. Make sure that the Speaker Setup you
want to calibrate and the physical outputs
of Clarity X are connected correctly on the
Routing page. For more information, see
“Signal routing” on page 59.
3. Make sure you have selected the correct
Speaker Setup (using either the Monitor Output buttons on the Main page, the
Speaker Set parameter on the Main Edit
page or the Remote Control).
4. Make sure you have selected the correct
audio format (Stereo, 5.1 or 7.1) for the
Speaker Set on the Main Edit page using
the Format parameter for this Speaker Set.
5. Position the Reference Microphone at
your listening position. The microphone is
omnidirectional and should point upwards
to ensure optimum results.
6. Go to the Cal subpage for the currently selected Speaker Set.
Speaker Set calibration
rameter) to aim for. This setting will depends on your application (TV, cinema etc.)
and room size.
8. Select a Speaker using the Channel Select
parameter.
9. Make sure that there are no obstacles between the speaker you are about to calibrate and the Reference Microphone.
10. Activate the Calibration Signal Generator
by clicking the On button in the Cal Generator section.
Fig. 39: Calibrating the right speaker in a 5.1
setup to EBU R128
11. Monitor the Microphone SPL level display on the right side of the page. For more
information on reading this display and adjusting speaker levels correctly, see “Microphone SPL display and Reset button” on
page 83.
12. Adjust the Level parameter for the speaker to match the value indicated by the Microphone SPL level display.
13. Select the next Speaker using the Channel
Select parameter and repeat the procedure.
14. When all monitors have been calibrated, go
to the Setup page for this Speaker Setup
and click the “Ready” button to indicate
that this Speaker Setup has been calibrated properly.
7. Choose a calibration standard (using the
Calibration Method) parameter and the target level (using the Acoustical Level pa-
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Speaker Set calibration
Setting up the 3600A
Reference Microphone for
speaker system calibration
Clarity X comes with a factory-calibrated reference microphone dedicated for speaker system
calibration and measurements.
The 3600A Reference Microphone has omni
characteristics. It is optimized and DSP-compensated for random incident, making Clarity X
ideal for room measurements.
Set up the microphone pointing upwards to ensure an identical angle towards all speakers in
your setup. This minimizes measurement uncertainties.
Calibration
The microphone is calibrated at the factory with
94 dB SPL, and the resulting output voltage –
e.g. -42.7 dBV – is noted on the calibration label
on the microphone along with the date of calibration. To ensure that Clarity X measurements have
the highest maximum precision, this calibration
value must be entered using the Icon application
on the Frame – System – Prefs page.
For more information about pairing and aligning
Clarity X and microphones in case of replacement, see “Microphone calibration level display”
on page 152.
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Speaker Set calibration
Calibration
To set up calibration parameters and calibrate
the currently selected Speaker Setup, click the
Frame tab, choose the Speaker Set you want to
calibrate (“Set1”, “Set2” or “Set3”) and choose
the Cal subpage.
Fig. 40: Frame / Set 1 / Cal page
! Editing the parameters on this page is not
possible when the currently selected Speaker
Setup has been defined as “Ready” by pressing the Ready button on its Setup page. See
“Speaker Set configuration” on page 66.
Cal Generator section
Calibration Method parameter
Settings: EBU R128, SMPTE RP200, ATSC A85
Use the Calibration Method parameter to select
the standard you want to follow when calibrating
your Speaker Setup(s). Changing this setting will
adjust the Acoustical Level parameter and set
the calibration signal and measures, accordingly.
Notes on EBU R128
EBU R128 (i.e. EBU Tech. Doc. 3343) has now
superseded the older Tech. Doc. 3276. The calibration in R128 aligns the electrical signal to -23
LUFS, and recommends an acoustic reference
level of 73 dB(C) SPL for broadcast. ATSC A/85
specifies an alignment level of -20 dBFS and
reference levels between 76 and 85 dB(C), depending on room size. SMPTE RP200, which is
relevant for cinema production, includes a 3 dB
offset of the surrounds compared to the screen
speakers, which are calibrated to 85 dB(C).
Acoustical Level parameter
Usually, you will select the calibration method/
standard that you want to follow using the Calibration Method parameter in this section, and
this will set the Acoustical Level parameter accordingly. However, you may also use the Acoustical Level parameter to manually select a level to
calibrate against.
When setting this parameter, you should consider your application (e.g. cinema or TV) and the
room size, and whether you mainly use far-field
or near-field monitors.
Clarity X contains studio presets for many applications, including music production, broadcast,
cinema, or TV – with appropriate calibration and
metering settings.
Calibration button
To activate the Calibration Tone Generator, click
the On button in the Cal Generator section. The
calibration tone will be played over the speaker
selected in the Cal Channel section.
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Speaker Set calibration
Microphone SPL display
and Reset button
Cal Channel section
When you have activated the signal generator
using the On button in the Cal Generator section,
the microphone reading will show Sound Pressure Level (SPL) measured with C-weighting and
averaged with Leq.
Channel Select parameter
Use the Channel Select parameter to select a
Channel for calibration.
Leq (equivalent continuous sound level) averages measurements over time in order to optimize
the precision. This is especially important for
subwoofer signals. Wait until the value displayed
has settled to read the final level. This process
may take approximately 10 seconds for a subwoofer signal.
When you change the speaker level, Leq is automatically reset.
You can also press the Reset button to the left
of the Level indicator to reset measurements
manually.
The channels available for selection depend
on the Speaker configuration as defined on the
Configuration page for this Speaker Setup. For
more information, see “Configuration page” on
page 66.
Speaker Size parameter
Settings: Small, Medium, Large
Use the Speaker Size parameter to define the
physical size of the speaker that you have selected using the Channel Select parameter. This
setting optimizes the precision of the Exposure
and Dose estimates.
Please note that this parameter has no effect on
the signal path.
Sweet Spot parameter
Settings: Spot 1 to Spot 4
Clarity X gives you the ability to calibrate all your
speaker sets for up to four different listening positions. Each Sweet Spot encompasses settings
for every relevant parameter for every speaker in
all three speaker sets.
Use the Sweet Spot parameter to select the
Sweet Spot that you want to adjust.
For more information on sweet spots, see “Alternative sweet spots” on page 87.
Invert button
Use the Invert button to invert the phase of the
audio signal going to the currently selected
speaker.
When you have inverted the signal going to a
speaker, “Inv” will be shown in the respective
Speaker Level and Distance indicator.
! The Invert button state is part of the currently
selected sweet spot, so switching to another
sweet spot will change this parameter.
When you have selected a sub channel for editing, the Invert button will be replaced by the
phase adjustment parameter.
Phase Adjustment parameter
Range: 0° to 360°
The phase adjustment parameter allows you to
adjust the signal phase for sub channels. This
allows you to move the overall phase of the subwoofer for the specific sweet spot.
Due to the subwoofer’s crossover frequency, you
may experience that the spectrum from the total
speaker system is not optimal at the crossover
frequency. Adjusting the phase parameter for
the sub will give you the best possible spectrum
from the total speaker system at the subwoofer
crossover frequency. This parameter is stored as
part of Clarity X studio presets.
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Speaker Set calibration
[Speaker] Delay parameter
Range: 0 to 100 ms
Use the Delay parameter to apply a delay to the
selected speaker.
For more information, see “Speaker positions
and Speaker Delay” on page 85.
! The Delay parameter setting is part of the currently selected sweet spot, so switching to another sweet spot will change this parameter.
[Speaker] Level parameter
Use the Level parameter to set the level for the
selected speaker.
Adjust this parameter while the Calibration Tone
Generator is active to match the value displayed
by the Microphone SPL display on the right edge
of the screen to the Acoustical Level parameter.
! The Level parameter setting is part of the currently selected sweet spot, so switching to another sweet spot will change this parameter.
Speaker Level and Distance indicators
The Speaker Level and Distance indicators in the
bottom half of the Cal Channel section will show
you the levels and the distances (calculated from
the speaker Delay setting) for all speakers in the
current Speaker Setup.
Distances are shown in feet or in meters depending on the Dimension Unit parameter on
the Preferences page. For more information, see
“Dimension Unit parameter” on page 150.
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Speaker Set calibration
Speaker positions and Speaker Delay
Why would you add delay to individual speakers
in a surround setup?
Measuring speaker distances and
entering the required delay values
When using a 5.x setup with monitors arranged
in a circle (as with ITU 775), the distance from the
listener to each main monitor is the same.
1. Using a simple measuring band, measure
the distance from you listening position to
the speaker furthest from that position.
However, if space is limited, the three front monitors will often be arranged on a straight line instead of a circle. In this case, the center signal
should be delayed to compensate for the center
monitor being closer to the listener than the left
and right monitor.
This is your reference value, and the signal
going to this speaker will not have to be delayed.
Your listening position might also be closer to the
front speakers than to the back speakers. Again,
you would delay the signal going to the front
speakers to compensate for this fact.
Delaying signals properly is achieved by setting a speaker-specific delay (in milliseconds) to
compensate for the delta between the ideal and
the real speaker distance (measured in feet or
meters depending on your Preferences settings).
This way, the perceived distance from your listening position to each speaker will be identical,
even though the actual distance varies.
For more information about speaker setup and
signal delays, see “Delaying monitors” on page
187.
7. Repeat this procedure for every speaker
that is closer to your listening position than
the speaker your measurements are based
on.
Of course, you scan skip the procedure for
all speakers that have the same distance
to your listening position as the speaker
your measurements are based on. So for a
5.1 setup where only the center speaker is
closer to your listening position, you would
only have to delay the signal going to the
center speaker.
2. Write down this distance on a piece of paper – let’s call it “A”.
For the remaining speakers in your Speaker Setup, you will now use the Delay parameter for this speaker to add a “virtual”
distance, so that the total distance to that
speaker equals A.
3. Measure the distance to the next speaker
and note it down – this is value “B”.
4. Subtract B from A. Let’s call the resulting
delta value “C”.
5. On the Cal page for this Speaker Setup (e.g.
Frame / Set2 / Cal), select that speaker using the Channel Select parameter in the Cal
Channel section.
Fig. 41: Signals for the left and right speakers
delayed by 2.4 ms to compensate for the
center speaker being 80 cm closer to the
listener
6. Adjust the Delay parameter for this speaker until the distance shown by the Speaker
Level and Distance indicator for that speaker equals “C”.
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Speaker Delay Example
The distance between your listening position and
the front left speaker is 1 meter.
The distance between your listening position and
the back left speaker is 4 meters.
Speaker Set calibration
A shortcut to calculating and
setting speaker distances
The speed of sound is approximately 340 m/s or
1130 ft./s. Accordingly, adding 1 millisecond of
delay will be virtually move a speaker 30 centimeters/1 foot away from your listening position.
Accordingly, you’ll want to add (4 minus 1 =)
3 meters to the signal going to the front left
speaker, so that its perceived distance to you is
the same as for the back left speaker.
1. On the Cal page for this Speaker Setup, select the front left speaker using the Channel
Select parameter in the Cal Channel section.
2. Adjust the Delay parameter for the front left
speaker until the distance shown by the “L”
Speaker Level and Distance indicator is 3
meters.
Add a delay to the front left speaker until the
distance shown is 3 meters. For fine-tuning the
Delay parameter, see “Using Faders for fine adjustments” on page 48.
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Speaker Set calibration
Alternative sweet spots
Engineers and audiophiles crave the sweet spot
– the listening position where they are able to
hear a mix the way it is intended to be heard. So
what could be better than enjoying a calibrated
monitor system with a well-defined sweet spot?
Well, being able to define and recall multiple
sweet spots.
If you are mixing a film score and the director
stops by to listen, or if you are working in post
production with the client sitting beside you, the
last thing you want is to switch positions just to
make sure that he get to hear how much effort
you put into the mix. Being able to recall a previously defined sweet spot for the person sitting
next to you is the most elegant and reliable approach. Think of it as making the sound as good
as it can possibly be on the “producer couch” or
in the director’s chair – without having to move
people, furniture or knobs.
Clarity X gives you the ability to calibrate all your
speaker sets for up to four different listening
positions. Comfortably select sweet spots from
Icon or using your Remote control.
Clarity X sweet spots
Clarity X allows you to store and recall 4 separate calibrated sweet spots for each speaker set.
These are four different groups of level settings
for all speakers in a given set with fixed physical
positions. Sweet spots can be defined and recalled for stereo and surround setups.
Sweet spots are extremely helpful when two or
more people (e.g. mixing engineer and producer) are in the room, or if are working with a large
mixing console that requires you to change your
position depending on what part of the mix you
are working on. You will find that it makes a rather big difference compared to having only one
sweet spot.
Sweet spot parameters
Sweets spots include the Level, Delay and
Phase Invert settings for each speaker. EQ settings are not part of the sweet spot.
Selecting sweet spots
You can select sweet spots as follows:
►► with
the Sweet Spot parameter on the Edit
Main page
►► with
the Sweet Spot parameter on the Frame /
Set / Calibration page as you calibrate speaker parameters
►► with
the Remote, where selection of sweet
spot 2 and 3 can be assigned to the F-keys.
For more information on setting up and using
the Remote, see .
You can only select one sweet spot at a time.
That sweet spot is common for all 3 speaker
sets.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
The Library: Recalling, storing
and deleting settings
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Studio, Project, Routing, Engine and M2 presets
Not in library
Project
M2
Engine
Routing
You first need to understand the hierarchical
structure of your Clarity X. This information is
also available from the Library / Recall page by
clicking on the Question Mark button.
Clarity X data structure overview
Studio*
To use Clarity X effectively, you should make
all required settings as described in this manual and then store them, so they can later be recalled. You may also want to name the settings
you store and delete settings that are no longer
required. All these features are described in this
chapter.
Frame / Speaker Sets 1, 2, 3
(Calibration, Bass Mngt, EQ)
Frame / Output Routing
Frame / System / Master Clock
Frame / System / IO Settings
Frame / Units
Frame / System / Exposure
Preferences
Frame / Input Routing
Frame / System / Preselection
of inputs (MADI)
Frame / Phones / Headphone
Settings
Main / Edit
Main / Meters
M2 Settings
√
√
√
√
√
Fig. 43: Overview of the Clarity X data
structure in TC Icon
√
√
√
√
√
√
Network, Lock, Mic Cal Level
√
√
Fig. 42: Overview of the Clarity X data
structure
* To store Studio Presets, Studio Setup has to
be enabled.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Studio
Project
Route
A Studio Presets contains the following:
A Project Preset contains the following data:
A Route Preset contains the following data:
►► Setup
►► Input
►► Input
data for all three loudspeaker sets (Calibration, Speaker Size, Delay, Level Equalizer)
and Output Routing
►► Engine
►► Input
Routing (as set on the Frame / Routing
settings. For more information, see
“Engine” on page 91.
Routings
►► Pre-selection
of Inputs (only applicable for
MADI)
page)
►► M2: All settings for the LM8 meter as set under
►► Master
Clock Settings (as set on the Frame /
System / Status page)
M2 and its subpages.
►► I/O
parameters (as set on the Frame / System
/ I/O page)
►► Units
and Exposure Preferences (as set on the
Frame / System / Prefs page)
A Studio Preset is the highest hierarchical level
in Clarity X. As the name implies, it should be
used to store the physical configuration of your
production environment and all relevant personal
preferences.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Engine
An Engine Preset contains the following data:
►► All
signal processing, mute and gain parameters as set on the Edit / Main and Edit / Format pages.
►► M1
meter settings parameters as set on the
Edit / Setup / M1 page.
►► Measurement
microphone and Signal Generator parameters as set on the Edit / Setup /
Tone page.
►► Clarity X
Remote configuration as set on the
Edit / Remote page.
►► Headphone
parameters as set on the Frame /
Phones page.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
The Library concept
The Library gives you access to all settings of all
parameters of the currently selected Clarity X,
organized as described under “Studio, Project,
Routing, Engine and M2 presets” on page 89.
The Library as organized by function, then by
Preset. That means that you would first decide
what you want to do (e.g. recall previously stored
data) and then select the hierarchy level/Preset
type you want to recall.
Factory presets versus user presets
When recalling presets, you will see that there
are two categories of presets: Factory presets
and User presets.
►► Factory
presets can only be recalled, but not
overwritten or deleted. If you change a Factory preset and you want to keep it, you have to
store it as a User preset.
Factory presets and Fader assignment
In all Project and Engine factory presets, Fader 1
is assigned to Source select. Recalling a Factory
preset is the only way to assign Source Select to
a fader. Saving a Factory preset as a User preset
will also save the Fader assignments, including
Source Select.
For more information about Fader assignment,
see “TC Icon faders” on page 48.
►► User
presets can be recalled, edited and
stored, thereby overwriting the previous version.
Factory presets – 44.1-48 versus 44.1-96
Where possible, Factory presets are divided into
44.1-48 and 44.1-96 groups. Please note that
there are some limitations to running 96 kHz,
so if you never run 96 kHz or if you work with
film 7.1, you can select the 44.1-48 range on the
Frame / System / I/O / Clock page and thereby
have the full feature set of Clarity X available at
all times.
If you sometimes or primarily run 96 kHz, you
may wish to have a constant feature set available
for all sample rates. In this case you should select the 44.1-96 range.
For more information, see “Master Clock and
AES Setup section” on page 62.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Recall page
Use the Library Recall page of the TC Icon software to recall (load) previously stored settings
into the memory of the currently selected device.
All colored buttons and selected items on the
Recall page are colored in green.
Recalling Presets
Preset information
►► If
For many presets, additional information is
stored as part of the preset. When you select
such a preset, an inverted “Info” tag will appear
at the bottom of the large Preset Recall button.
it isn’t already, select the device you want to
control using the Select page – see “TC Icon
modes: Base and Device operation” on page
47.
►► Select
the Library tab.
►► Select
the Recall page.
the subpage for the Preset type you
want to access: Studio, Project, Routing, Engine or M2.
Fig. 45: M2 Preset Recall button with Info tag
►► Select
For more information, see “Studio, Project,
Routing, Engine and M2 presets” on page
89.
Click the Info tag to display additional information about this preset in a modal dialog.
Click the OK button do close the dialog.
►► Select
Fig. 44: Library Studio Recall page
between Factory and User preset
groups by clicking the Factory or User button.
►► Select
a Preset you want to use.
►► Click
the large “Recall (Studio / Project / Routing / M2) Preset” button in the upper right corner to recall (activate) the selected preset.
The selected preset will be recalled.
Fig. 46: Info display for M2 preset
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Store page
Use the Library Store page of the TC Icon software to store (save) settings to a Memory Bank.
You can only store settings as User presets. Factory presets cannot be overwritten.
All colored buttons and selected items on the
Store page are colored in red.
Storing Presets
Naming Presets
►► If
All user preset types can be (re)named.
it isn’t already, select the device you want to
control using the Select page – see “TC Icon
modes: Base and Device operation” on page
47.
►► On
►► Select
the Library tab.
►► Select
the Store page.
►► Select
the subpage for the Preset type you
want to store: Studio, Project, Routing, Engine
or M2.
! To store Studio presets, you need to enable
Studio Setup on the Preferences page. For
more information, see “Preferences” on page
149.
►► Select
a User Preset Group (U1 to U8).
Fig. 47: Library Studio Store page
To rename a preset:
There are 8 User Preset Groups, with each
group holding up to 8 Presets.
the Store page, select the preset that you
want to rename.
►► Click
►► An
the “Name” button.
on-screen keyboard will be shown.
►► Use
the on-screen keys or the physical keyboard of your computer to edit the name.
►► Click
the large Enter button to confirm the new
name.
! Please note that the preset itself is not stored
when you click the Enter button! To store
the preset with its new name, click the large
“Store (Scene / Route / Engine / Meter) Preset” button.
►► Select
a Preset slot (1 to 8) in the currently selected group that you want to use.
►► Click the large “Store (Scene / Route / Engine /
Meter) Preset” button to store (save) your settings as a Preset.
The selected data type will be stored as a Preset. You can then recall this Preset – see “Recall page” on page 93.
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Adding Preset Information
You can add information to Presets you have
created or modified. When recalling such a preset later, an inverted “Info” tag will appear at the
bottom of the large Preset Recall button, allowing the user to access this additional information
– see “Preset information” on page 93.
The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Operating the unit while renaming presets
Please note that even when renaming presets
or adding information as described above, the
faders for the previously accessed page are still
available and operational. This means you can
continue operating the faders even when the
keyboard is shown on screen.
To add information to a preset:
►► On
the Store page, select the preset that you
want to add information to.
►► Click
►► An
the “Info” button.
on-screen keyboard will be shown.
►► Use
the on-screen keys or the physical keyboard of your computer to edit the name.
►► Click
Enter to confirm.
! Please note that the Preset itself is not stored
when you click the Enter button! To store the
preset with the newly added information, click
the large “Store (Studio | Project | Routing |
Engine | M2) Preset” button.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Delete page
Use the Library Delete page of the TC Icon software to delete Presets from a Memory Bank.
Storing Presets
►► If
You can only delete User presets. Factory presets cannot be deleted.
All colored buttons and selected items on the
Delete page are colored in yellow.
it isn’t already, select the device you want to
control using the Select page – see “TC Icon
modes: Base and Device operation” on page
47.
►► Select
the Library tab.
►► Select
the Delete page.
Operating the unit while deleting presets
Please note that even when deleting presets, the
faders for the previously accessed page are still
available and operational. This means you can
continue operating the faders even when the
keyboard is shown on screen.
►► Select
the subpage for the Preset type you
want to delete: Studio, Project, Routing, Engine or M2.
! To delete Studio presets, you need to
enable Studio Setup on the Preferences
page. For more information, see “Preferences” on page 149.
►► Select
the User Preset Group (U1 to U8) containing the Preset you want to delete.
Fig. 48: Library Project Delete page
►► Select
the Preset slot (1 to 8) with the Preset
you want to delete.
►► Click
the large “Delete (Studio | Project | Routing | Engine | M2)” button to delete (erase) the
selected Preset.
You will be asked to confirm this operation before the Preset is actually deleted.
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The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings
Bank page
Use the Library Bank page of the TC Icon software to copy Scene / Routing / Engine / Meter
Presets from one location to another.
You can copy Presets…
►► from
and to Memory Banks and
►► from
and to files.
Copying Presets
►► If
it isn’t already selected, select the device
you want to control using the Select page –
see “TC Icon modes: Base and Device operation” on page 47.
►► Select
►► Specify
the folder where the file should be
written in the “File Folder” field.
the Library tab.
►► If
►► Select
Files can be transferred to other computers, allowing you to easily reuse your presets.
To copy from a Bank to a file on disk
►► Select the “From Bank”button above the first
column. The second column will switch to “To
File” accordingly.
►► Select
the Bank page.
the subpage for the Preset type you
want to copy to or from the device memory:
Studio, Project, Routing, Engine or M2.
you want to overwrite an existing file, select
it in the right column.
If you select “New file” instead, you will be
prompted to specify the file name.
►► Click
the “Copy Bank” button.
To copy from a file on disk to a Bank
►► Select “From File” in the first column. The
second column will switch to “To Bank” accordingly.
►► Specify
the folder from where the file should
be read in the “File Folder” field.
►► Click
the “Copy Bank” button.
Fig. 49: Library Bank page
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Signal Source and Speaker Set configuration
Signal Source and
Speaker Set configuration
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Signal Source and Speaker Set configuration
Main Edit page
Use the Main Edit page to specify basic input
and output parameters.
Source (1 to 3) section
Src 1 to Src 3 selection buttons
Click on a button to select the respective signal
source module. The button of the currently selected Source module is highlighted.
For information on assigning the physical inputs
of Clarity X to the three Source modules, see
“Setting up audio and syncing” on page 57.
Src 1 to Src 3 Format parameters
Use the Src 1 to Src 3 Format parameters to
specify the format of the audio signal fed into the
respective Source Module.
Fig. 50: Main Edit page
Click on a button to select the respective Signal
Source Module. The button of the currently selected Source module is highlighted.
Setting the Source Format correctly is required
to ensure that features such as Downmix work
as expected. E.g., if you set it to Stereo, you will
not be able to use the Multi-channel Downmix
feature.
To specify the Speaker Set, use the Speaker Set
pages. For more information, see “Speaker Set
configuration” on page 66.
Available settings are Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1.
Src 1 to Src 3 Gain parameters
Use the Src 1 to Src 3 Gain parameters to adjust
the gain of the respective Source Module.
Tip: Use your input meter to gain-align signal
sources that you want to A/B compare. Assign
Source selection to a key on your Remote Control and check the Main display as you switch
between them.
Tone „LED“
When the Signal generator on the Edit / Setup
Tone page has been activated, the Tone “LED”
will be lit.
! When the Signal Generator is enabled (running), you only need to push one of the Src
buttons on the Main edit page to stop the Signal Generator and switch to that Source. You
can also stop the Signal Generator by clicking
in a Source Module on the Routing page.
Select Solo button
Click this button to switch the adjacent set of
buttons from Mute to Solo.
When the Select Solo button is disabled, the adjacent button set allows you to mute channels.
When the button is enabled (highlighted), the labels of the adjacent buttons change from “Mute
[Channel Identifier]” to “Solo [Channel Identifier]”,
and you can use them to solo channels.
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Using Mute and Select Solo effectively
Let’s assume that you are working on the center speaker signal in your mix. First, you would
mute the center speaker with the Mute button. If
you then click the Select Solo button, all speakers except for the center speakers will be muted.
This allows you to easily get an overview of the
center speaker signal’s effect on the total mix.
Signal Source and Speaker Set configuration
Monitor Out section
Delay parameter
Use the Delay parameter to apply an AV delay
to the signal sent to currently active speaker set.
This delay is added to the speaker-specific delay
set for the Speaker Set.
Sweet Spot parameter
Settings: Spot 1 to Spot 4
Clarity X gives you the ability to calibrate all your
speaker sets for up to four different listening positions. Each Sweet Spot encompasses settings
for every relevant parameter for every speaker in
all three speaker sets.
Use the Sweet Spot parameter to select the
Sweet Spot that you want to adjust.
Mute buttons
Click a button to mute the respective channel in
the selected Signal Source Module. There is one
button for each channel of a 7.1 signal. Muted
channels are highlighted. To unmute, click the
respective button again.
Ref / Ref 2 / Ref 3 Select buttons
Use the buttons to select a Reference Level.
Solo buttons
When you have enabled the Select Solo button,
the Mute buttons are replaced by Solo buttons,
allowing you to solo channels. You can solo multiple channels.
This function is also available from the Remote
Control. For more information, see “Clarity X Remote Control” on page 121.
Cut button
To cut the signal to the speakers altogether, click
the Cut button.
Dim button
To bring the volume down by 18 dB, click the Dim
button. This is done digitally for the AES outputs.
For the analog outputs, the 18 dB attenuation is
performed in the analog domain, expanding the
dynamic range instead of reducing it.
This function is also available from the Remote
Control. For more information, see “Clarity X Remote Control” on page 121.
For more information on sweet spots, see “Alternative sweet spots” on page 87.
Speaker Set parameter
Use the Speaker Set parameter to select the
Speaker Set.
! In a normal usage scenario, you would control both Reference Levels and Speaker Set
selection using the Remote control. For more
information, see “Clarity X Remote Control” on
page 121.
Ref Level 2 and Ref Level 3 parameter
Use the Ref Level 2 and Ref Level 3 parameters
to define secondary and tertiary reference levels.
Ref 2 and Ref 3 Level parameters are relative to
the (Main) Ref Level, i.e., you specify the offset.
Master Fader parameter
Use Master Fader parameter to set the Master
Output level.
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Signal Source and Speaker Set configuration
If the Remote Control is connected to your Clarity X, this parameter will be disabled.
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Signal Source and Speaker Set configuration
Tone page
Use the parameters on the Tone page to create
and measure test signals.
Fig. 51: Tone page
Measurement Microphone section
Signal Generator section
SPL Weighting parameter
Settings: A Weighting, C Weighting
Use the SPL Weighting parameter to specify the
sound pressure level measurement filter that
should be used for the measurement.
Noise Type parameter
Settings: Sine, White Noise, Pink Noise,
Two Octave 1 kHz, Two Octave 50 Hz
Use the Noise Type parameter to select the signal type that the Signal Generator should generate when activated.
The measurement will reflect what the Reference
Microphone „sees“ – typically, the test signal
created with the Signal Generator or your actual
sound mix.
Two Octave 1 kHz setting
This is a pink noise signal bandwidth-limited to 2
octaves from 500 Hz to 2 kHz.
The Microphone SPL display in the upper right
corner will reflect the selected curve, with the label reading either “dB(A)” or “dB(C)”.
Two Octave 50 Hz setting
This is a pink noise signal bandwidth-limited to 2
octaves from 25 Hz to 100 Hz.
Level RMS parameter
Range: -40 to 12 dBFS
Use the Level RMS parameter to set the level of
the test signal.
Noise Correlate parameter
Settings: Correlated, Uncorrelated
If you have enabled the All button to send the
test signal to all channels, and if you have set
the Noise Type parameter to White Noise, Pink
Noise, Two Octave 1 kHz or Two Octave 50 Hz,
you can use the Noise Correlate parameter to
specify if the signals should be correlated or uncorrelated between channels.
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Freq parameter
Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
If you have set the Noise Type parameter to Sine,
you can use the Freq parameter to set the frequency for the sine wave. For fine-tuning the frequency, see “Using Faders for fine adjustments”
on page 48.
Going through the frequency list, you will find
440 Hz (standard pitch) and 997 Hz settings.
997 Hz is often used instead of 1 kHz due to its
robustness towards resampling in peak meters
etc.
Signal Source and Speaker Set configuration
On button
To activate the Signal Generator, click the On
button.
Microphone SPL and
Signal Meter section
When the Signal Generator is active,
►► the
Peak Meters on the left edge of the Tone
page will show the levels of the test signals
as they are sent out to the currently selected
Speaker Setup
►► the
Microphone SPL display in the upper right
corner will display the signal level measured
with the microphone connected to the MIC
IN jack.
Sine Level parameter
Setting: 0 to 12 dB
If you have set the Noise Type parameter to Sine,
you can use the Sine Level parameter to set an
offset level for the sine wave relative to the noise
types.
Channel Select parameter
Settings: Left, Right, Center, LFE, Back
Left, Back Right, Side Left, Side Right
Use the Channel Select parameter to select the
Channel the test signal should be sent to.
This parameter is not editable if you have enabled the All button.
All button
To send the signal from the Signal Generator not
only to the selected channel, but to all channels,
click the All button.
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Clarity X Main view –
Meters and Operation
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Clarity X main view – introduction
The Main view is the “dashboard” that you use
to monitor and control your studio setup after
you have connected and configured your studio
setup as described in the previous sections of
this manual. It provides a wealth of information,
allowing you to see what is going on.
The left pane shows information about the input,
while the right pane displays output-related information.
The two-panes/two pages approach also allows
you to access even more relevant functions and
statistics with the click of a button.
Fig. 52: Clarity X Main View – input and
output panes showing Page 1
Fig. 53: Clarity X Main View – input and
output panes showing Page 2
►► Click
the Page 1/Page 2 button in each pane
to switch this pane to the other page.
For more information, see:
►► “Main view – left pane – page 1” on page 106
►► “Main view – left pane – page 2” on page 108
►► “Main view – right pane – page 1” on page 109
►► “Main view – right pane – page 2” on page 111
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Main view – left pane – page 1
Radar Meter
Source Overview
The radar display shows your short-term (S)
loudness history over time. The outer ring shows
the Momentary Loudness (M), while a descriptors can be assigned to display a parameter you
choose – for instance Program Loudness (I) and
Loudness Range (LRA).
The Source Overview gives you a complete overview of the channels in the currently selected
Source Module.
For more information about M1 configuration,
see “M1 Meter configuration” on page 146.
The meters are quite small and not meant for
“reading” the dB values of each channel, but to
quickly spot if one or more channels suddenly drops out. In a stereo setup, this would immediately be audible, but for instance in a 7.1
surround environment, one of the rear or side
speakers may go silent for a while before you
notice it.
For general information about the Loudness Radar Meter, see “M2 – The LM8 Meter” on page
125.
On page 1, the name of the currently selected
source module is shown above the channel display, e.g. “Source 2”.
To configure the meter, use the Edit / Setup / M1
page.
Fig. 54: Clarity X Main View, left pane, page
1 showing the Radar Meter and Source
overview, Stereo Deviation Meter and Center
Ratio Meter
Fore more information on assigning the physical
inputs of Clarity X to the Source Modules, see
“Signal routing” on page 59.
Page 1 of the Main view’s left pane shows…
►► the LM8 Radar meter (M1)
►► the channel overview for the currently selected Source
►► the Stereo Deviation Meter (if it has been selected on the Edit / Setup / M1 page)
►► the Center Ratio Meter (if it has been selected
on the Edit / Setup / M1 page)
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Stereo Deviation Meter
Center Ratio Meter
Even though you probably put most of your efforts into your surround mix, it is important to remember that stereo is still the format that actual
viewers are most likely to be listening to, as most
films and TV shows are watched from a living
room with stereo speakers.
The Center Ratio Meter displays the balance
between the center channel and the rest of the
channels in your surround mix. It is basically a
loudness measure of the center channel versus
the rest, and the way the meter reflects this balance is based on analysis of a number of film
and TV productions.
The Stereo Deviation Meter shows you how well
your surround mix will translate into stereo.
Based on state-of-the-art loudness measurement algorithms, the Stereo Deviation Meter
compares the loudness of your surround mix to
the loudness of an emulated downmix version of
that mix. This shows if your mix will be too loud
or too soft once it has been downmixed to stereo. In addition, any difference between the two
could mean that there might be a problem with
your surround mix.
We worked from content examples with high
speech intelligibility and measured the balance
of the center channel versus the rest. We then
did exactly the same using some sources with
poor speech intelligibility. This way we have been
able to set a target that correlates with high intelligibility.
If the Center Ratio Meter goes to the left, the
center channel is too soft compared to the rest
of the channels in order to maintain good intelligibility.
If the Center Ratio Meter goes to the left, the
center channel is probably too loud.
It is important to stress that the center channel
also carries other sound sources than speech
and that the meter is a visual guideline rather
than a fail-safe, fixed solution, so be sure to always trust your ears while using this meter as a
guideline.
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Main view – left pane – page 2
►► For
more information about the Statistics
Page, see “LM8 Statistics page” on page
140.
►► For
more information about the True Peak Meter, see “True-peak meters” on page 133.
►► For
more information about the channel overview, the Stereo Deviation Meter and the Center Ratio Meter, see the parameter descriptions in “Main view – left pane – page 1” on
page 106.
On page 2, the channel are shown above the
channel display as follows:
Fig. 55: Clarity X Main View, left pane, page
2 showing Radar statistics, True Peak Meter
and Source overview, Stereo Deviation Meter
and Center Ratio Meter
Page 2 of the Main view’s left pane shows…
►► the LM8 Radar Statistics page,
►► the M1 Reset button,
►► the channel overview for the currently selected Source
►► the Stereo Deviation Meter (if it has been selected on the Edit / Setup / M1 page)
►► the Center Ratio Meter (if it has been selected
on the Edit / Setup / M1 page).
Front L
Front R
Front C
Si L
Si R
Bk L
Bk R
Front Left
Front Right
Front Center
Side Left (for 7.1 setups)
Side Right (for 7.1 setups)
Back Left
Back Right
Reset M1 button
Click the Reset M1 button to reset the M1 Radar
Meter. The Meter can also be reset from the Remote Control.
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Main view – right pane – page 1
Speaker Set display
Dose Meter
►► To
For more information about Dose Metering, see
“Dose Metering” on page 116.
mute or unmute a speaker, click its icon.
! Headphones can be selected and muted as
well, even separately for the left and right side.
Usually, you would mute, unmute and solo
speakers using the Remote Control. for more
information, see “Clarity X Remote Control” on
page 121.
Fig. 56: Clarity X Main View, right pane, page
1 showing the current speaker set, the Dose
Meter, the Speaker Set overview, and various
status indicators
Page 1 of the Main view’s right pane shows…
►► a visual representation of the currently selected Speaker Set,
►► the Dose Meter
►► the channel overview for the Speaker Set,
►► Mute/Solo status indicator
►► Downmix status indicator
►► M/S status indicator
►► REF level status indicator
►► Delay status indicator
►► “Other” status indicator.
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Speaker Set Overview
Status indicators
The Speaker Set Overview gives you an overview of the channels in the currently selected
Speaker Set. Just like the Source Overview in
the left pane, these small meters are not meant
for “reading” absolute values, but to quickly spot
when channels suddenly drop out.
Mute/Solo status indicator
This indicator will light up if one or multiple
speakers in the currently selected Speaker Set
have been muted or soloed.
On page 1, the name of the currently selected
Speaker Set is shown above the channel display,
e.g. “Speaker Set 1”.
“Other” status indicator
This indicator will light up if one of the following
signal processing functions has been activated:
►► Noise
Floor Zoom. For more information, see
“Noise Floor section” on page 115.
►► Phase
Inversion. For more information, see
“Invert Phase section” on page 113.
Downmix status indicator
This indicator will light up if the Downmix function on the Format page has been engaged. For
more information, see “Multi-channel downmix
section” on page 113.
►► Signal
Generator (Tone). For more information,
see “Speaker Set calibration” on page 78.
M/S status indicator
This indicator will light up if the Mono or side
functions on the Format page have been engaged. For more information, see “Mono/Side
section” on page 114.
REF level status indicator
This indicator will light up green when the current
Speaker Setup is operated at reference level.
It will light up yellow if there is a problem with the
reference level, e.g. when the Speaker Set has
not been calibrated.
Delay status indicator
This indicator will light up if a delay has been applied to the monitor signal on the Main Edit page.
For more information, see “Monitor Out section”
on page 100.
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Clarity X Main view – Meters and Operation
Main view – right pane – page 2
Dose Meter
The Dose Meter shows the following information:
►► Exposure
Level (LEX ) per day or week
(depending on the Time Period parameter
setting on the Preferences page)
Front L
Front R
Front C
Si L
Si R
Bk L
Bk R
Front Left (for all setups)
Front Right (for all setups)
Front Center (for 5.1 & 7.1 setups)
Side Left (for 7.1 setups)
Side Right (for 7.1 setups)
Back Left (for 5.1 & 7.1 setups)
Back Right (for 5.1 & 7.1 setups)
►► Dose
Percentage per day or week
(depending on the Time Period parameter
setting on the Preferences page). Values
below 10 % are shown with decimals.
Use the Reset Dose button to reset the Dose
Meter.
►► For
basic information about Dose Metering,
see “Hearing loss protection” on page 24
and “Dose Metering” on page 116.
Fig. 57: Clarity X Main View, right pane, page
2 showing the Dose Meter, the Reset Dose
button, the Speaker Set selection buttons
and various status indicators
Page 2 of the Main view’ right pane shows…
►► the Dose Meter and the Reset Dose button
►► the Speaker Set selection buttons
►► the channel overview for the Speaker Set,
►► Mute/Solo status indicator
►► Downmix status indicator
►► M/S status indicator
►► REF level status indicator
►► Delay status indicator
►► “Other” status indicator.
►► For
configuring the Dose Meter, see “Exposure & dose estimation section” on page
151.
►► For
information about configuring Speaker
Sets, see “Speaker Set configuration” on page
66.
►► For
information about the channel overview
for the Speaker Set and the various state indicators, see the parameter descriptions in
“Main view – right pane – page 1” on page
109.
On page 2, the channel are shown above the
channel display as follows:
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Downmix and other processing functions
Downmix and other
processing functions
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Downmix and other processing functions
Edit Format Page
Use the Edit / Format page to access and configure signal processing functions.
Invert Phase section
Multi-channel downmix section
Use the buttons in the Invert Phase section to
selectively invert the phase of one or multiple input channels.
! To use the Multi-channel downmix functions described in this section, you need to
specify the selected Source Module’s format on the Main Edit page. The audio signal’s format will not be detected automatically.
For more information, see “Main Edit page” on
page 99.
There is one button for each channel of a 7.1 signal. You can invert multiple channels. Inverted
channels are highlighted.
Downmix Enable button
To convert…
►► a
7.1 signal from the currently selected Source
Module to Stereo or 5.1,
Fig. 58: Edit / Format page
►► a
5.1 signal from the currently selected Source
Module to Stereo or
…click the Enable button in the Multi-channel
downmix section.
! The Downmix section cannot be enabled
when the Source Format of the currently selected Source Module has been set to Stereo,
as a “Stereo to Stereo” downmix does not
make sense.
If you want to downconvert a Stereo (or a
5.1/7.1 surround) signal to Mono, use the
Mono button in the Mono/Side section instead. For more information, see “Mono/Side
section” on page 114.
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Downmix parameter
Settings: Stereo, 5.1, Auto
Use the Downmix to select the format that the
signal should be downmixed to.
Stereo setting
When Multi-channel downmix is enabled and
Downmix is set to Stereo, a 5.1 or 7.1 source signal will be converted to Stereo.
5.1 setting
When Multi-channel downmix is enabled and
Downmix is set to 5.1, a 7.1 source signal will be
converted to 5.1.
Downmix and other processing functions
You can attenuate each signal or signal pair by
up to 12 dB or remove it from the downmixed
signal completely (Off setting).
When downmixing from 7.1 to 5.1, only the back
and side channel parameters are editable. The
L/R and C parameters are grayed out and have
no effect on the downmix.
For an overview of downmix options and the
resulting signal processing, see “Audio formats
and bass management modes – overview” on
page 69.
Mono/Side section
Mono button
To convert the Source Signal to Mono, press the
Mono button.
Conversion to Mono occurs after the Multi-channel downmix, if this function has been engaged.
Side button
To only listen to the Side signal components,
press the Side button.
Auto setting
When Multi-channel downmix is enabled and
Downmix is set to Auto,
The Side signal component contains only the information that differs between the left and right
channels of a stereo signal.
►► a
Monitoring the Side signal component only is
especially interesting when comparing a data-reduced format – such as MP3 or AAC – to a linear
signal, or to a data-reduced signal at a different
bit rate.
5.1 source signal will be converted to Stereo,
►► a
7.1 source signal will be converted to Stereo
when using a Stereo Speaker Setup,
►► a
7.1 source signal will be converted to 5.1
when using a 5.1 Speaker Setup,
Conversion to Mono occurs after the Multi-channel downmix, if this function has been engaged.
►► a
5.1 source signal will not be affected when
using a 5.1 Speaker Setup,
►► a
Stereo signal will not be affected.
Gain parameters (L/R, C, Back, Side)
Use the Gain parameters to attenuate signal
components in the downmixed Stereo signal.
Monitor M/S parameter
Settings: L/R, Center
If you have applied Mono or Side Channel processing using the Mono or Side button, you can
use the Monitor M/S parameter to define over
which speaker(s) the Mono or Side signal should
be played back.
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Noise Floor section
Use the parameters in the Noise Floor section
to configure and activate the Noise Floor Zoom
feature.
About Noise Floor Zoom
Noise is a potential source of annoyance that
may clutter up the clarity of your mix. There may
be one or more noise sources in your system
that are almost inaudible.
With the Noise Floor Zoom feature, you get a
virtual „noise floor magnifying glass“ that zooms
in on your noise floor before the signal reaches
Clarity X by adding up to 70 dB of gain to your
output.
Downmix and other processing functions
tally activated during playback, Clarity X provides a hard clip protection at -20 dBFS, ensuring that nothing and no-one gets hurt.
Noise Floor Zoom Enable button
To enable Noise Floor zoom, click the Enable
button.
NF Zoom Level parameter
Use the NF Zoom Level parameter to define by
how many dBs the signal level present at the currently selected Source Module should be raised
when Noise Floor Zoom is active.
Fig. 59: Noise Floor Zoom
Obviously, such a feature calls for protection as
it could damage your speakers, or even worse:
your eardrums. To ensure that this doesn’t happen if the Noise Floor Zoom feature is accidenClarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)115
Dose Metering
Dose Metering
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Dose Metering
Hearing Loss
For anyone working professionally with audio,
the sense of hearing is essential. Unfortunately, sound that damages our hearing is not necessarily painful or even annoying – see Fig. 60.
Note how audio professionals fall in a dangerous
category with a high risk of being sometimes
under unsafe or even traumatic listening conditions.
Sound Exposure
Furthermore, recent clinical trials suggest that
noise-induced damage to hearing has progressive consequences that are considerably more
widespread than are revealed by conventional
testing. If medical trends continue, the light gray
zone of Fig. 60 will be no-go for professionals
before long.
Thanks to new techniques to estimate actual
sound exposure, Clarity X can help you become
aware of potentially damaging work-practice before it’s too late. Clarity X can also help you perform better mixes by keeping an ear on when it’s
time for a break.
Most audio professionals are familiar with sound
pressure level (SPL) and anchor points such as
threshold of hearing (0 dB SPL), normal speech
(60 dB SPL) and one or two high SPL references.
However, the relevant metric to consider for
projecting hearing loss typically isn’t SPL but
sound exposure – i.e. the A-weighted sound
pressure squared and integrated over a period
of time covering the exposure.
For any calibrated Speaker Setup or headphones, Clarity X continuously estimates the
resulting sound exposure, even when switching between sources and formats.
! If the currently selected Speaker Setup has
not been calibrated and declared as Ready,
the Dose Meter will show “Not Cal”. For more
information, see “Speaker Set configuration”
on page 66.
Fig. 60: Noise-induced hearing loss risks
Fig. 61: Clarity X Dose Meter showing “Not
Cal” for a Speaker Setup not declared as
Ready
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For more information about Speaker Setup calibration, see “Speaker Set calibration” on page
78.
Dose Metering
Sound Exposure Level
Instead of displaying the raw sound exposure
with its unpractical unit, Clarity X shows sound
exposure level (SEL), which – like SPL – is logarithmic and relative to the threshold of hearing
in humans at 1 kHz.
Sound Exposure Level versus
Sound Pressure Level
Despite both measurements having the unit
[dB(A)], Sound Exposure Level (SEL) should not
be confused with Sound Pressure Level (SPL).
SEL is a measure of total sound energy within a
certain time frame, while SPL typically is used as
a momentary measure.
Time period for Dose Metering (Day / Week)
The normal time intervals to consider for SEL
is day or week, such that the SEL and Dose%
are normalized to an 8 hour day or to a 40 hour
week, respectively.
Fig. 62: Clarity X Dose Meter and Dose Reset
button as seen in the right pane of the TC
Icon Main View
Clarity X allows either interval to be used for the
estimation of exposure. Set the preferred time
period on the Frame / System / Preferences
page. For more information, see “Exposure &
dose estimation section” on page 151.
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Dose Percentage (Dose %) indicator
Dose % relative to maximum safe exposure is
a way of showing cumulative dose of variant
sound sources, and generally the easiest metric
to consider for using Clarity X safely.
With the exposure interval set to Day, your dose
should stay below 100 % each day, and with a
safety margin if other significant exposure is expected later in the day (e.g., going to the movies,
a concert, or a club).
If you are working in one studio in the morning
and in another one in the afternoon, reset the
Dose measurement before starting each session
and use simple addition to estimate your daily
total – e.g. 35 % + 50 % = 85 %.
Dose Metering
Customizing Dose Metering with
the Criterion parameter
Dose % is a further interpretation of sound exposure, and it requires a 100 % criterion to be
specified.
Based on medical recommendations, the default
100 % criterion in Clarity X is a SEL of 80 dB(A)
– i.e., the light gray border of Fig. 60.
Dose Percentage display
The Dose Meter shows the Sound Exposure as a
“donut”-style gauge.
Read the colors and patterns shown by the Dose
Meter as follows:
Dose Reset
This criterion, however, can be adjusted, e.g. to
a less conservative setting such as 85 dB(A).
Set the Criterion parameter on the Frame / System / Preferences page. For more information,
see “Exposure & dose estimation section” on
page 151.
Fig. 63: Dose Meter reset
Listening fatigue
As listening fatigue is individual, also use Dose %
to notice which milestones you need to observe
to keep sharp – e.g. for each 10 % or 15 % increase.
0% Dose is what you will see right after resetting
the Dose Meter.
Green: You’re good!
Fig. 64: Dose Meter in the green
From 0 to 99%, you are in the green area, and
there would be no reason to worry about your
hearing.
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Yellow: Now you should worry
Fig. 65: Dose Meter over 99%
If the Dose Meter turns yellow, you should start
putting attention to your mix levels.
Dose Metering
Red/white stripes: Don’t get here
Fig. 67: Dose Meter – critical dose
At this point you have overly exceeded the limits
of what’s good for you and your ears in the long
run. It’s definitely time to stop.
You might consider taking a break or lowering
the level for some time.
Red: It’s serious
Fig. 66: Dose Meter in the red
If you find the Dose Meter turning red, you
should definitely take action:
Take a longer break, turn down your speaker
system for a good while.
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Clarity X Remote Control
Clarity X Remote Control
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Clarity X Remote Control
Using the Remote Control
Once you have configured Clarity X and the attached Speaker Sets properly, use the included
Clarity X Remote Control for daily operation. This
remote control is a natural extension of Clarity X,
putting all relevant functions at your fingertips.
Clarity X Remote Control reference
1
2
3
4
access to three different user-defined
Reference Level settings.
►► 3
programmable switches F1- F3
►► Direct
5
6
selection of Speaker Sets and Sources
►► Mute/unmute
and solo function for each monitor in the setup.
Available settings are Set 2, Set 3 and Phones.
The alternative Speaker Set is defined in the TC
Icon software on the Edit / Remote page. See
“Remote Function Keys section” on page 124.
Remote Control Features
►► Instant
2. ALT Key
Use the ALT key to select your alternative Speaker set – or any output for that matter.
Fig. 68: Clarity X Remote Control
3. DIM/CUT key
To bring the volume down by 18 dB, press the
DIM key. This is done digitally for the AES outputs. For the analog outputs, the 18 dB attenuation is performed in the analog domain, expanding the dynamic range instead of reducing it.
To un-DIM, press the DIM/CUT key once.
►► Easy
Master Level adjustment via large dial.
1. REF – Reference Level key
Press the Reference Level key to recall your reference listening level, which was determined
during your initial speaker and room calibration.
When it is lit, the volume knob is disabled. If you
press the Reference Level key again, the level
jumps to the position of the volume knob.
To cut the signal to the speakers altogether,
press and hold the DIM key.
If you have applied CUT and press the DIM/KEY
once, you will switch to DIM level. To un-DIM,
press the DIM/KEY again. This setup allows you
to go from DIM to CUT and back to DIM instead
of full level.
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Clarity X Remote Control
Clarity X Remote Control
reference ctd.
1
2
3
4
during the initial speaker and room calibration.
Placing the Master Volume dial at the Ref marker
is equivalent to pressing the REF button (1).
Muting and unmuting a speaker
►► To mute a speaker/channel, press the respective key.
The volume dial is disabled when the Reference
Level key (REF) is enabled.
►► To
When the current position of the volume dial
knob corresponds to the actual level, the VALID
LED will be lit.
Solo Function
To activate the Solo function for a speaker/channel, press and hold the respective key.
5
6
4. F1 to F3 – Function keys
The Function keys can be configured by the user
using the Edit / Remote page of the TC Icon software. See “Remote Function Keys section” on
page 124.
6. Mute/Unmute/Solo buttons
for each channel
Use these keys to mute or solo individual speakers in your surround mix:
►► L:
Left
►► C:
Center
►► R:
Right
►► Lsur:
Left surround
5. Master Volume Dial and VALID LED
Use the Master Volume Dial to set the volume for
the currently selected Speaker Set.
►► SUB:
Subwoofer
►► Rsur:
Right surround
When operating the Master Volume Dial, the
Valid LED will blink shortly for every 6 dB gain
change. This allows you to perform precise 6 dB
gain changes.
The LEDs of these keys indicate the current state
for a channel as follows:
►► LED
on: Speaker on
The “REF” marker on the volume knob defines
your reference listening level, which you specify
►► LED
off: Speaker muted
►► LED
flashing: Speaker solo
unmute a speaker/channel, press the respective key again.
To deactivate the Solo function, press (but do
not hold) the respective key again. This will return the speaker to the previous state (active or
muted).
Working with 7.1 setups
If you are working with a 7.1 setup, the Lsur key
controls the left side and back speaker pair, and
the Rsur key controls the right side and back
speaker pair.
If you need individual control over all 8 speakers in a 7.1 setup, you can program two of the
Function keys above the volume knob for Side
L and Side R, leaving the BL and BR keys for
controlling back left and back right. This configuration gives you a dedicated control for each
speaker. See “Remote Function Keys section”
on page 124.
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Clarity X Remote Control
Configuring the Remote Control
Use the Edit / Remote page of the TC Icon software to configure the Remote control.
Remote Function Keys section
F1 Key to F3 Key parameters
Use these parameters to assign functions to the
three Function keys (F1, F2 and F3) on the Remote control.
Available functions are:
Src2, Src3
Switch to the Source 2 or Source 3 module. Use
this function to select another signal source.
Downmix
Activate the multi-channel downmix feature
(Downmix from 7.1 to Stereo).
You can configure the downconversion module
on the Edit / Format page.
Mono
Convert the currently selected (Stereo, 5.1 or 7.1)
Signal Source to Mono. For more information,
see “Mono/Side section” on page 114.
Pressing the respective button again switches
back to Src 1.
Side
Hear the Side signal components for the currently selected Signal Source. For more information,
see “Mono/Side section” on page 114.
M1 Reset, M2 Reset, M1+M2 Reset
Reset Meter 1, Meter 2, or both Meters.
NF Zoom
Activate the Noise Floor Zoom feature.
Dose Reset
Reset the Dose counter.
You can configure the Noise Floor Zoom feature
on the Edit / Format page.
Fig. 69: Edit / Remote page
Set 2, Set 3, Phones setting
Switch to Speaker Set 2, Speaker Set 3 or Headphones. Pressing the respective button again
switches back to Speaker Set 1.
Ref 2, Ref 3
Activate Reference Level 2 or Reference Level 3.
ALT key parameter
Set 2, Set 3, Phones setting
Switch to Speaker Set 2, Speaker Set 3 or Headphones. Pressing the ALT button again switches
back to your main Speaker Set (1).
SL, SR
Mute and Solo the Side Left and Side Right
speakers in a 7.1 setup. Along with the six dedicated Mute/Unmute/Solo buttons, this gives you
full control over a 7.1 setup.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
M2 – The LM8 Meter
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 – introduction
M1 vs. M2
LM8 features
What is LM8?
Clarity X has two high-end LM8 Radar meters.
The LM8 Loudness Radar Meter algorithm
shows the user the essence of the “loudness
landscape” at a glance for a complete and instant overview, including:
LM8 represents a quantum leap away from simply measuring audio level to measuring perceived loudness.
►► The
meters/meter set in the main monitoring
engine are called M1. They always reflect what
you are listening to.
►► Loudness
addition to this, Clarity X offers a dedicated metering engine with its own, independent
routing called M2. This second LM8 instance
will measure and display the channels you
have selected for metering at all times regardless of whether you’re listening to them or not.
For more information on viewing and editing
signal routings, see “Signal routing” on page
59.
History
►► In
►► Momentary
►► True-peak
►► Program
Loudness
Level
Loudness and
►► Loudness
Range
The old level method is responsible for unacceptable level jumps in television, for music CDs
getting increasingly distorted, and for different
audio formats and program genres becoming incompatible: Pristine music tracks from the past
don’t coexist with new recordings, TV commercials don’t fit drama, classical music or film and
broadcast don’t match. The most fundamental
audio issue of all – control of loudness – makes
millions of people adjust the volume control over
and over again, every day.
– all this in a single view.
For a signal flow overview, see “Clarity X signal
flow diagram” on page 26.
The parameters for M1 and M2 are very similar,
with some signal flow and user interface-related
differences.
The current chapter (“M2 – The LM8 Meter”)
explains the basic concepts behind TC’s Radar
Meter and all M2 parameters.
For specific information about configuring M1,
see “M1 Meter configuration” on page 146.
LM8 also features a detailed 24/7 logging function that will generate a text file which you can
use to document adherence to a specific broadcast standard.
LM8 is part of a universal and ITU-standardized
loudness control concept, whereby audio may
easily and consistently be measured and controlled at various stages of production and distribution.
LM8 works coherently together with other TC
products, or with third-party equipment adhering
to the same global standard. Follow the guidelines given to allow audio produced for different
purposes to be mixed – without low dynamic range material (such as commercials or pop
CDs) always emerging as the loudest.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 core features
TC’s Universal Database of Loudness
►► Real-time
Since 1998, TC has performed listening tests
and evaluation of loudness models. From these
tests, TC has built an extensive Universal Database of loudness, based on tens of thousands
of assessments. This database covers all sorts
of broadcast material, music, commercials, feature film and experimental sounds, and is verified
against other independent studies.
loudness meter compliant with
►► EBU
R128,
A/85,
►► TR-B32 and ITU-R BS.1770-3.
►► ATSC
►► Loudness
History Radar display
►► True-peak
bar graph display
►► Supports
►► Presets
Mono, Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1
for use in broadcast, music, film and
post production.
The Universal Database is authoritative from an
academic as well as a practical point of view. It
has been indispensable when designing the LM8
meter, because it provided the missing link between short-term and long-term loudness, and
enabled the statistically founded Universal Descriptors of LM8.
Fig. 70: Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT) for
consumers in different listening situations
Fig. 71: Peak level normalization
The chart of Dynamic Range Tolerance in Fig. 70
is a side-effect of the studies mentioned:
Consumers were found to have a distinct Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT) specific to their
listening environment. The DRT is defined as a
Preferred Average window with a certain peak
level Headroom above it. The average sound
pressure level (which obviously is different from
one listening condition to another) has to be kept
within certain boundaries in order to maintain
speech intelligibility, and to avoid music or effects from getting annoyingly loud or soft.
Audio engineers instinctively target a certain Dynamic Range Tolerance profile when mixing. But
because level normalization in broadcast and
music production is based on peak level measures, low dynamic range signatures end up the
loudest as shown by the red line in Fig. 71. Peak
level normalization means that material targeted
at low dynamic ranges gets loud.
Audio production is therefore trapped in a downward spiral, going for ever decreasing dynamic
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
range. By now, the pop music industry is to the
right of In-flight entertainment as shown in the
illustration.
►► Ingest,
LM8 offers a standardized option. The visualization of loudness history and DRT – in combination with long-term descriptors from production
onwards – is a transparent and well-sounding alternative to our current peak level obsession; not
only for music, but also in production for broadcast or film.
►► Master
An engineer – who may not be an audio expert –
should be able to identify and consciously work
with loudness developments within the limits of
a target distribution platform – and with predictable results when the program is transcoded to
another platform.
LM8 therefore color-codes loudness, making it
easy to identify…
►► target
level (green),
►► below-the-noise-floor
►► loud
level (blue) and
►► Linking,
Control Processing and
►► Logging.
Using the same loudness measure for all these
purposes ensures better audio quality – not only
in DTV audio, but across all broadcast platforms.
Fig. 72: Target loudness based on a
consumer’s Dynamic Range Tolerance
Fig. 72 shows target loudness for selected
broadcast platforms based on a consumer’s Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT). The aim is to center dynamic range restriction around average
loudness (in this case the -20 dB line), thereby avoiding washing out differences between
foreground and background elements of a mix.
Please note how different the broadcast requirements are from those of cinema.
LM8 and TC processing can coexist with PPM
meters, VU meters or Dolby’s LM100 meter. L8
greatly increases the usability of LM100 in production environments because it provides running status, and gives a standardized and intuitive indication of both dialog and non-dialog
program.
events (yellow).
When production engineers realize the boundaries they should generally stay within, less dynamics processing is automatically needed during
distribution, and the requirement for maintaining
time-consuming metadata at a broadcast station
is minimized.
In broadcast, the goal is to use the same loudness measure for…
►► Production,
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 – Basic use and setup
LM8 can be used with mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1
material for any type of program material.
Reading the Radar display
It visualizes…
►► short-term
►► loudness
►► long-term
Pausing and resetting
the Radar display
The Reset and Pause buttons to the left of the
display are the “transport controls” of LM8. They
are used to make the radar and descriptor measurements run, pause and reset.
loudness,
history and
Click the Reset button to reset the Radar display
and the descriptors.
statistical descriptors.
To bring up the Radar display:
►► Select
the M2 page.
►► Select
the Radar subpage.
During normal operation, you will be using this
page most of the time.
Fig. 73: LM8 Radar
Target Loudness is displayed at the “12 o’clock”
position of the outer LED ring, and at the radar
circle marking the transition from green to yellow.
The yellow numbers in the lower part of the display are the two descriptors Loudness Range
and Program Loudness.
For more information, see “LM8 Radar Page” on
page 131.and “LM8 Main page” on page 134.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
Setting up LM8
To change the name of the current LM8 Preset
and adjust basic parameters, go to M2 / Main
page. See “LM8 Main page” on page 134.
To configure what information the Radar view
should display, go to M2 / Setup. See “LM8 Setup page” on page 138.
Working with LM8 presets
LM8 presets define parameters such as target
loudness, noise floor, and overload conditions.
You can use TC Icon’s Library functions to rename, store and recall presets – see “The Library: Recalling, storing and deleting settings”
on page 88.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 Radar Page
Outer Ring: Current Loudness
Long-term measurements
The segmented outer ring of the Radar page
displays Momentary loudness. The “12 o’clock”
position represents the 0 LU point (i.e. Target
Loudness). Values above this point are shown
in yellow. The “LU Reference” parameter can be
found on the LM8 Main page.
Universal descriptors may be used to make program-duration measurements, or you may “spotcheck” regular dialog or individual scenes as required. It is recommended not to measure programs of a shorter duration than approximately
10 seconds, while the maximum duration may be
24 hours or longer.
The Low Level point is marked by the transition
from green to blue. The “Low Level Below” parameter can be found on the Setup page.
Fig. 74: LM8 Radar page
The user should be instructed to keep the outer ring in the green area, and around the “12
o’clock” position on the average. Excursions into
the blue or the yellow area should be balanced,
and not only go in one direction.
The numbers associated with the outer ring may
be referenced at either maximum loudness or
have a zero point set at Target Level. You can set
this on the Preferences page using the “Loudness Unit” parameter. Either way of looking at
loudness is valid.
LUFS reading is in line with how peak level is typically measured in a digital system, and compatible with Dolby AC3 and E metadata, while the LU
approach calls for a certain Target Loudness to
have been predetermined, like e.g. a VU meter.
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Reset button
Before a new measurement, click the Reset button. This will reset the descriptors, the radar and
the true-peak meters.
Run the audio, and watch the Radar and the descriptor fields update accordingly.
While the Radar will update instantly, the descriptors will wait five seconds into the program
before showing the first readings. This is normal.
Even though the first five seconds of a program
are not shown instantly, they are included in the
descriptor calculations.
LM8 incorporates an intelligent gate which discriminates between foreground and background
material of a program. Consequently, measuring won’t start before audio has been identified.
The intelligent gate also pauses measurements
during periods that only contain background
noise, and during fade-outs of music tracks.
M2 – The LM8 Meter
Universal Descriptors
and Dolby LM100
Universal Descriptors
and AC3 Metadata
Unlike methods that measure dialog only, LM8
may be used with any type of audio, including
dialog.
The “Dialnorm” parameter in AC3 metadata
should indicate the average loudness of a program. Basic dynamic range and level control that
rely on this parameter may take place in the consumer’s receiver. Therefore, its value should not
be far off target, or the consumer results become
highly unpredictable.
If you wish to measure dialog, it is recommended
to do a manual spot check of a program or a film.
Find 10-30 seconds of regular dialog and measure it with LM8. Where dialog may be soft, regular or loud, and shift by more than 15 dB inside
a film, regular dialog tends to be less ambiguous
and more consistent across a program.
For compatibility with a proprietary measure
such as Dolby LM100, only some of these meters
are updated to use ITU-R BS.1770 and Leq(K)
while others are locked at Leq(A). The software
version of LM100 should be 1.3.1.5 or higher in
order for it to comply with BS.1770, and to have
its average loudness reading be compatible with
Program Loudness in LM8.
Program Loudness in LM8 is directly compatible
with dialnorm in AC3. Most broadcast stations
work with a fixed dialnorm setting, for instance
-23 LUFS. This would be the Program Loudness
target level for any program.
If your station is more music- than speech-oriented, better inter-channel leveling may be obtained with dialnorm permanently set 1 or 2 LU
below the Program Loudness target level.
Even used just on speech, Leq(A) is not a precise
approximation to perceived loudness, so please
update the unit to BS.1770 to obtain similar readings and predictable results.
To measure dialog with LM8 the same way Dolby
LM100 is sometimes used, solo the Center channel during a spot check to momentarily disable
the channel weighting specified in BS.1770, if
you’re working on a 5.1 stem.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
True-peak meters
The peak meters of LM8 display true-peak as
specified in ITU-R BS.1770. True-peak meters
give a better indication of headroom and risk
of distortion in downstream equipment such as
sample rate converters, data reduction systems
and consumer electronics than digital sample
meters used e.g. in CD mastering. Note that the
standard level meters in most digital workstations and mixers are only sample peak (Final Cut,
Avid, ProTools, Yamaha etc.) and should only be
used as a rough headroom guideline.
Note that the meter scale is extended above
0 dBFS. Most consumer equipment distorts if
you see readings above 0. It’s not a problem to
have true-peak level going to -1 dBFS in production, but legacy platforms (analog, NICAM etc.)
and some data-reduction codecs may distort
unless true-peak level is kept lower.
With Dolby AC3 and with low bit rate codecs,
-3 dBFS should be considered the limit, while
legacy platforms requiring emphasis may need
even further restriction. As described in EBU
R128, it is recommended to make full use of the
headroom with true-peaks going to -1 dBFS in
production, and to only restrict peak level further
during distribution/transmission.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 Main page
Descriptors section
Descriptor 1 / Descriptor 2 parameters
Off setting
The respective descriptor will not be shown.
Fig. 75: LM8 Main page
In production, Loudness Range may serve as
a guide to how well balancing has been performed, and if too much or too little compression has been applied. If a journalist or video
editor isn’t capable of arriving at a suitable LRA,
he could be instructed to call an audio expert
for help. The following may be regarded as initial
production guidelines:
Range setting
Loudness Range (standardized in EBU R128 and
abbreviated “LRA”) displays the loudness range
of a program, a film or a music track. The unit is
LU, which can be thought of as “dB on the average”.
►► HDTV
The Loudness Range descriptor quantifies the
variation of the loudness measurement of a program. It is based on the statistical distribution
of loudness within a program, thereby excluding
the extremes. Thus, for example, a single gunshot is not able to bias the LRA number.
Remember to use LRA the other way around,
too: If there is an ideal for a certain genre, check
its LRA measure, and don’t try go below it. LRA
should not be used for Limbo. Allow programs
or music tracks the loudness range they
need, but not more than they need.
EBU R128 does not specify a maximum permitted LRA. R128 does, however, strongly encourage the use of LRA to determine if dynamic treatment of an audio signal is needed and to match
the signal with the requirements of a particular
transmission channel or platform.
Loudness Range may also be measured on a
broadcast server to predict if a program is suitable for broadcast without further processing.
LRA is even a fingerprint of a program and stays
the same downstream of production if no dynamics processing has been applied. You may
even check the number out of a consumer’s settop box to verify that distribution processing and
Dolby DRC has been disabled.
Consequently, if a program has LRA measured
at 10 LU, you would need to move the master
fader ±5 dB to make loudness stay generally the
same over the duration of the program (mot that
you would want that).
and digital radio:
Stay below LRA of 20 LU.
►► SDTV:
Stay below LRA of 12 LU.
►► Mobile TV and car radio:
Stay below LRA of 8 LU.
As with Program Loudness and Loudness Max,
the meter should be reset before measuring
LRA.
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Prog. Loudn. setting
Program Loudness returns one loudness number for an entire program, film or music track. Its
unit is LUFS. Some vendors and countries use
the unit “LKFS” or “LUFS”, but all three designate the same: An absolute measure of loudness
in the digital domain, where the region around
“0” is overly loud and not relevant for measuring anything but test signals. Expect readings of
broadcast programs in the range between -28
and -20 LUFS.
Program Loudness is used as a production
guideline, for transparent normalizing of programs and commercials, and to set loudness
metadata in delivery if so required.
For delivery or transmission of AC3 format, the
metadata parameter “dialnorm” should reflect
Program Loudness.
The easiest way to handle multiple broadcast
platforms is to normalize programs at the station to a certain value, thereby being able to take
advantage of the normalization benefits across
platforms, at the same time enabling static metadata.
M2 – The LM8 Meter
cially when taking the measurement differences
into account. Target numbers range between -24
and -22 LUFS.
As with Loudness Range and Loudness Max,
the meter should be reset before measuring Program Loudness.
Sliding Loudness setting
Unlike Loudness Range, Program Loudness and
Loudness Max, Sliding Loudness is a continuously updated measure that doesn’t need to be
reset. This type of descriptor is especially useful when “mixing by numbers” – i.e. when there
is no access to the extremely informative radar
display.
When mixing by numbers, having Program Loudness as one descriptor and Sliding Loudness
as the other displays simultaneous information
about the full program side by side with the most
recent loudness history.
Because the Sliding Loudness measurement
is completely ungated, it may also be used to
spot-check sections of a program complying
to “raw” ITU-R BS.1770 and the first revision of
ATSC A/85.
LM8 makes use of optimized statistics processing in order to display a sliding loudness value (a
prognosis) as quickly as possible after a reset.
Loudness measurements in LM8 are all rooted in
ITU-R BS.1770. However, subtle differences exist
between different regions of the world. Therefore
LM8 also includes the “Loudness Standard” parameter. Be sure to set this parameter correctly
for compliance in your region.
The Program Loudness target is more or less the
same for broadcasters around the world, espe-
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Loudness Max setting
Loudness Max displays the maximum loudness
registered since the meter was last reset. Loudness Max is an especially useful parameter when
checking and normalizing short duration programs such as promos and commercials.
BCAP rules from the UK is an example of using
Loudness Max as an efficient instrument to reduce listener complaints regarding loud commercials. While Program Loudness is adequate
to normalize a consistent mix, Loudness Max
may be used as a second line of transparent defense against overly short and loud event.
M2 – The LM8 Meter
Sliding Loudness parameter
Use the Sliding Loudness parameter to define
the time window that is used for Sliding Loudness measurements.
For more information, see “Sliding Loudness setting” on page 135.
The selected Sliding Loudness setting is also
displayed on the Statistics page, e.g. as “Sliding
Loudness 10 sec”.
For more information, see “LM8 Statistics page”
on page 140.
Loudness Max parameter
Use the Loudness Max parameter to define the
time window that is used for Loudness Max
measurements.
For more information, see “Loudness Max setting” on page 136.
The selected Loudness Max setting is also displayed on the Statistics page, e.g. as “Loudness
Max 3 sec”.
Loudness section
Loudness Std. parameter
The Program Loudness measure is always rooted in the ITU-R BS.1770 loudness model. This
parameter sets measurement gating. Note that
the parameter only influences Program Loudness, and not Sliding Loudness or Loudness
Max.
BS.1770-3 setting
This setting reflects the latest revision of ITU-R
BS.1770. Relative gate at -10 LU, safety gate at
-70 LUFS.
Leq(K) setting
This setting reflects the original version of ITU-R
BS.1770. No measurement gate besides from
at safety gate at -70 LUFS, so the user doesn’t
need to precisely start and stop a measurement
in order to avoid bias from complete silence.
Center of Gravity setting
The standard setting from early versions of TC
radar meters. Relative gate at -20 LU, safety gate
at -70 LUFS.
For more information, see “LM8 Statistics page”
on page 140.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LU Reference parameter
The LU Reference parameter defines the loudness required to obtain a “12 o’clock” reading on
the outer ring of the Radar display, which is the
same as the border between green and yellow
on the Radar.
Audio Format parameter
Use the Audio Format parameter to specify the
format of the metered signal. Choose between
Stereo & 5.1 and 7.1. The True-Peak Input Meter
(if shown) will change accordingly.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 Setup page
Radar page section
Momentary Range parameter
Settings: “+9 Scale” or “+18 Scale”
EBU mode meters can display two different momentary displays:
+9 Scale setting
The +9 Scale setting provides a narrow loudness
range intended for normal broadcast. It gives a
momentary meter range from -18 to +9 LU.
Fig. 76: LM8 Setup page
+18 Scale setting
The +18 Scale setting provides a wide loudness
range intended for film, drama and wide range
music. The It gives a momentary range from -36
to 18 LU.
Radar Speed parameter
Range: 1 minute to 24 hours
The Radar Speed parameter controls how long
each revolution of the Radar display takes. You
may “zoom” between the settings during runtime, as long as the history isn’t reset.
Pressing the Reset button on the Radar page will
reset meter and descriptor history.
Radar Resolution parameter
Range: 3 to 12 dB/div
The Radar Resolution parameter sets the difference in loudness between each concentric circle
in the Radar display. Choose a low value when
targeting a platform with a low dynamic range
tolerance. You may “zoom” between the settings, as long as the history isn’t reset.
Low Level Below parameter
Range: -30 to -6 LU
The Low Level Below parameter determines
where the transition between the green and blue
range occurs in the outer ring. It indicates to the
engineer that the signal level is now at risk of being below the noise floor.
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Peak Indicator parameter
Range: -12 to +3 dBTP
Use the Peak Indicator parameter to specify the
value that should trigger the Peak indicator in
the upper right corner of the Radar display. E.g.,
if you set Peak Indicator to -1 dBFS, the PEAK
indicator on the Radar page will be lit when the
signal is -1 dBFS or above.
M2 – The LM8 Meter
7.1 Gain Weighting section
True Peak Meters section
Please note that the parameters in the 7.1 Gain
Weighting section are only available when the
Audi Format parameter on the LM8 Main page
has been set to 7.1. For more information, see
“Audio Format parameter” on page 137.
(True Peak Meters) On parameter
Use the On button to switch the True Peak meters on the right edge of the LM8 user interface
on or off.
Back L/R parameter
When the LM8 Radar meter is being used for
metering Stereo and 5.1 signal sources, the way
that each channel’s gain is taken into consideration is well-defined. However, when metering
7.1 format signals, no standards apply. In this
case, use the Back L/R parameter for weighting
the Back Left and Back Right channels.
To set the format for the True Peak Meters, use
the Audio Format parameter on the LM8 Main
page.
Side L/R parameter
When metering a 7.1 format signal, use the Side
L/R parameter for weighting the Side Left and
Side Right channels. For more information, see
“Back L/R parameter” on page 139.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 Statistics page
About PLR (Peak to Loudness Ratio)
PLR (Peak to Loudness Ratio) measurements often correlate with audio quality – be careful not
to force it too low. Programs and tracks should
be allowed to live.
! Important: Clicking the Reset button will reset
the meters and the log file.
Fig. 77: LM8 Statistics page
The Statistics page gives an overview of essential descriptors:
►► Program
Loudness
►► Loudness
Max
►► Loudness
Range
►► True-Peak
Max
►► Sliding
►► PLR
Loudness
(Peak to Loudness Ratio)
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
LM8 log files
Loudness meter data is stored in the device’s internal memory and can be transferred to a computer using the TC Icon application (but not with
the hardware TC Icon).
Log file resets
Log page
The meter log file is reset (along with the actual
Loudness Meter)…
! Please note that while both Clarity X LM8
meters (M1 and M2) are logged internally, file
handling functions as described in this section
are only available for M2.
►► when
you turn off the device
To access the log file-related functions, select
your TC HD device/Frame in TC Icon software,
switch to the tab of the respective loudness meter and select the “Log” page button on the left
side of the main window.
►► when
the Meter is reset manually.
However, M1 can be logged using the Auto
Logging feature. For more information, see
“Auto Logging” on page 144.
The log file is also reset along with the Loudness
Meter if the measurement standard is changed
manually, or by loading a preset based on a different standard.
Fig. 78: Log page with two log files
Common Log File Folder
Use the Common Log File Folder field to specify a folder on your computer where retrieved log
files should be stored.
The folder you set here is a common folder for
all the products controlled from this particular TC
Icon software.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
Additional information when
Auto Logging is enabled
Log File folder defaults
►► The default log file folder for Microsoft
Windows is:
[C:] \users\ [your user name] \Documents\LM
To learn how to set up Auto Logging, see “Auto
Logging” on page 144.
►► The
default log file folder for Apple OS X is:
[Root] /users/ [your user name] /
Documents/TC Electronic/
When Auto Logging is enabled for this Engine,
the following information will be displayed on the
Log page:
To specify the folder path, click in this field and
type the path to the folder you want to use. Press
the Enter key to confirm.
Fig. 79: Clarity X log file header
Dump log button
This button is not available when Auto Logging
has been enabled – see “Auto Logging” on page
144.
Click the Dump Log button to manually retrieve
the log file from the selected device and Engine
and store it on your computer in the Common
Log File Folder.
You will be asked to confirm this operation, as
the TC Icon software user interface will not be
available during log file retrieval.
Show Log Header button
This button is not available when Auto Logging
has been enabled – see “Auto Logging” on page
144.
Select a log file from the log file list and click the
Show Log Header button to show its header information (see “Log file header” on page 143.
Delete Log button
This button is not available when Auto Logging
has been enabled – see “Auto Logging” on page
144.
Next log retrieval
This field will display a countdown to the next log
file retrieval (e.g. as “35 min. 54 sec.”) or show
“Now” while retrieving a log file.
Last log
After successful log file retrieval, the path to the
file is shown plus the file header with statistics
summary.
To delete a log file from your computer’s hard
disk, select the respective log file from the log
file list and click the Delete Log button. You will
be asked to confirm this operation.
Device ID field
The Device ID is used for naming log files. This
applies to both manually and automatically retrieved log files.
If you operate several TC HD devices, use the
Device ID field to give each device a unique
name. This might be the name of the TV channel being measured with this device. By default,
the Device ID corresponds to the product serial
number.
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Log file format and structure
Each log file is a plain text file with the structure
shown below. The header shows a summary of
the log, followed by the actual, time-stamped
values in tab-separated values format.
This file format can easily be imported into
spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers for further analysis.
Log file header
If the Loudness Meter preset being used has
been edited, the Preset Name is followed by “Edited”. The serial number, preset name and software version information for the logged device is
also available.
The summary includes statistics, and the measurements are stored every second.
Time and date is added while dumping the log
file. This information is derived from the computer that the TC Icon software is running on. Accordingly, you need to ensure that the computer’s clock is set correctly.
Log file name
The log file’s name is composed from the Algorithm, the Device ID, the Meter Engine, the date
(coming from the computer running the TC Icon
software), plus a number starting with 0000 and
increased for each log file retrieval on the same
date.
M2 – The LM8 Meter
Log file example
Header lines are indicated by a leading hash
character.
# --- Clarity X log file ------------------------#
# TC Electronic LM8 Loudness Meter
# Clarity X serial number 17175210 - Firmware
0.09.00
# Meter M2
# Preset: EBU R128 Radar (Edited)
#
# --- Overall Statistics ------------------#
# Start time: 2015-05-13 23:13:49
# End time: 2015-05-13 23:35:10
#
# Program Loudness: -120.0
LUFS
# Loudness Max 10s:
-59.6
LUFS
# Loudness Range:
0.0
LUFS
# True-Peak Max:
-23.2
LUFS
# --- Loudness log ------------------------#
Date
TimeLoudness (LUFS)
Working with log files
You can delete, move and rename log files as
required using Windows Explorer in Microsoft
Windows, the Finder in OS X or a third-party file
manager.
2015-05-13 23:13:49-59.63
2015-05-13 23:13:50-59.63
2015-05-13 23:13:51-59.63
2015-05-13 23:13:52-102.59
etc.
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M2 – The LM8 Meter
Auto Logging
Log Select page
Using the free TC Icon software application (but
not the hardware TC Icon), it is possible to specify a fixed interval at which the computer will collect Loudness Meter log files from the Frames
controlled by the Icon software.
To activate Auto Logging,
Log file retrieval can be activated for a wide
range of TC Electronic devices from TC Icon
software.
►► click
TC Icon software to Base mode by
clicking the Icon symbol in the upper left corner of the window,
Button “LED” states
Grey
Indicates that this Engine holds a valid LM8 algorithm, but no log file has been retrieved yet.
►► switch
Green
Indicates that at least one log file has been retrieved from this Engine.
the Auto tab on top of the window
the Log Select page button on the left
side of the window.
►► click
! Please note that when enabled, auto logging
will work for both LM8 meters (M1 and M2),
and the log files are saved in the same folder.
Yellow
Indicates that this Engine does not hold an LM8
algorithm.
Red
Indicates that there was a problem retrieving the
log file. Check that the connection to the Frame
is working.
Blue – blinking
Indicates that the log file is currently being retrieved from the specific Frame and Engine.
“Auto log is not available from this device”
If a product controlled by the Icon application
does not feature a Loudness Meter.
Fig. 80: Auto Logging – Log Select page, with
meter M2 enabled for logging
Use this page to select the Frame(s) and Engines
in that Frame from which you want to collect log
files. Engines enabled for logging will be highlighted.
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Log Setup page
To configure Auto Logging,
TC Icon software to Base mode by
clicking the Icon symbol in the upper left corner of the window,
M2 – The LM8 Meter
Log File Folder
Use the Log File Folder field to specify a folder on your computer where retrieved log files
should be stored.
►► switch
►► click
The folder you set here is a common folder for
all the products controlled from this particular TC
Icon software.
the Auto tab on top of the window
the Log Setup page button on the left
side of the window.
►► click
Log File folder defaults
►► The default log file folder for Microsoft
Windows is:
[C:] \users\ [your user name] \Documents\LM
default log file folder for Apple OS X is:
[Root] /users/ [your user name] /
Documents/TC Electronic/
When you have set the Interval field to “1 Week”,
you can also set the day of the week when the
log file should be retrieved.
For devices running 24/7, you would usually
chose a time when log file retrieval does not interfere with other activities.
E.g., you could retrieve the log file every Monday
at 01:05.
Once you have activated Auto Logging, additional information is displayed on the Log Setup
page:
►► The
Interval field
Settings: 1 / 2 / 4 / 12 hours, 1 day, 1 week
Use the arrow buttons in this section to define
the interval for log file retrieval.
Next Auto Log Retrieval display
This is the time when the next log file retrieval
will occur.
E.g., “2014-09-15 15:57” means that the next log
file retrieval will occur on September 15, 2014, at
3:57 pm.
Fig. 81: Auto Logging – Log Setup page
Use the parameters on this page to set up log
file retrieval.
Auto log button
Click this button to enable Auto Logging for all
devices/Engines that have the respective Meter
button enabled on the Log Select page – see
“Log Select page” on page 144.
Day / Hour / Minute fields
Use the Hour and Minute fields to set a specific
time of day when the next log file should be retrieved. The clock is set in 24 hours format.
Countdown display
This field shows a countdown to the next log file
retrieval in hours, minutes and seconds.
Additional log files will be retrieved in the intervals specified using the Interval field.
Retrieving Log From display
The name of the device and the Engine from
which a log file is currently being retrieved, e.g.
“7: Loudness Pilot No.87 – M2”
E.g., if you set the Hour and Minute fields to 2
hours and 10 minutes and set the Interval field to
4 hours, log files will be retrieved at 2:10 am, 6:10
am, 10:10 am etc.
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M1 Meter configuration
M1 Meter configuration
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M1 Meter configuration
M1 – introduction
The differences between the two Radar Meter
instances M1 and M2 are explained in “M1 vs.
M2” on page 126.
The parameters for M1 and M2 are very similar,
with some signal flow and user interface-related
differences.
For a full explanation of the concepts behind
TC’s Radar Meter and all M2 parameters, see
“M2 – The LM8 Meter” on page 125.
In the current chapter (“M1 Meter configuration”),
we will refer/link to the relevant parameter descriptions in the M2 chapter.
M1 Loudness Measure section
Main Page Meters section
Loudness Std parameter
For more information, see “Loudness Std. parameter” on page 136.
M1 Meter Type parameter
Use the M1 Meter Type parameter to specify the
meter that should be displayed on the Clarity X
main page.
LU Reference parameter
For more information, see “LU Reference parameter” on page 137.
In the software version described in this manual,
this parameter is not editable.
Back L/R parameter
For more information, see “Back L/R parameter”
on page 139.
Side L/R parameter
For more information, see “Side L/R parameter”
on page 139.
Upper Bargraph parameter
Use the Upper Bargraph parameter to specify
the meter that should be in the Upper Bargraph
Section of the Clarity X main page’s left pane.
In the software version described in this manual,
this parameter is not editable.
Lower Bargraph parameter
Use the Lower Bargraph parameter to specify
the meter that should be in the Lower Bargraph
Section of the Clarity X main page’s left pane.
In the software version described in this manual,
this parameter is not editable.
Fig. 82: Edit – Setup – M1 page
Left Descriptor / Right
Descriptor parameters
For more information, see “Descriptor 1 / Descriptor 2 parameters” on page 134.
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M1 Meter configuration
M1 Settings section
Outer Ring parameter
For more information, see “Outer Ring: Current
Loudness” on page 131.
Outer Ring Range parameter
For more information, see “Momentary Range
parameter” on page 138.
Radar Speed parameter
For more information, see “Radar Speed parameter” on page 138.
Radar Resolution parameter
For more information, see “Radar Resolution parameter” on page 138.
Low Level below parameter
For more information, see “Low Level Below parameter” on page 138.
Peak Indicator parameter
For more information, see “Peak Indicator parameter” on page 139.
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Preferences
Preferences
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Preferences
Preferences page
Use the parameters on the Frame / System /
Prefs page to configure basic measurements
units and other parameters that usually only
need to be set up once.
Units Section
Dimension Unit parameter
Settings: Metric, Feet
Use the Dimension Unit parameter to select the
unit for all dimensional parameters and displays.
Setting the Dimension Unit parameter to Metric will switch the Temperature indicator on the
Frame / System page to degrees Celsius.
Setting the Dimension Unit parameter to Feet will
switch the Temperature indicator on the Frame /
System page to degrees Fahrenheit.
Fig. 83: Preferences page
Loudness Unit parameter
LUFS setting
All measurements of program loudness and sliding loudness are shown in units of LUFS – that
is, in Loudness Units on the absolute scale. This
is the normal setting for the Loudness Unit parameter, which we recommend for most applications.
ness level, such as -23.0 LUFS. So by selecting
“LU”, one can immediately see if a loudness level
is above the target level (e.g. +1.2 LU) or below
(e.g. -3.4 LU).
Frame Rate parameter
Settings: 24, 25, 30, 50, 60 frames
Where parameters such as the Monitor Out Delay parameter are defined using Frames, you
need to establish the frame rate. Use the Frame
Rate parameter for this.
Delay Unit parameter
Settings: ms, Frames
Use the Delay Unit parameter to set the unit for
all time-based parameters.
! If you use the Frame setting, you will also need
to define the correct video frame rate on the
Preferences page. For more information, see
“Frame Rate parameter” on page 150.
Loudness Range is always shown in units of LU,
because it is basically a measurement of ‘range’
or of the distance between a high and a low
loudness level.
LU setting
With this setting, measurements of program
loudness and sliding loudness are shown in units
of LU – that is, in Loudness Units on a relative
scale. The 0 LU is by definition the target loudClarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)150
Preferences
Exposure & dose estimation section
Use the parameters in this section to configure
the Dose meter.
For more information, see “Hearing loss protection” on page 24 and “Dose Metering” on
page 116.
Time Period parameter
Settings: 24 hours, One week
Use the Time Period parameter to set the time
frame that dose measurements should be based
on.
Setting this parameter to 24 hours means that all
sound listened to via Clarity X during the past 24
hours is accumulated into sound exposure. The
displayed Sound Exposure Level (SEL) is scaled
to a normalized 8 hour day, making the value
comparable to nominal working day recommendations. In a similarl fashion, “One week” accumulates sound for the most recent seven days,
with SEL for a standard work week of 40 hours.
al audio content of your input source and the
level you’re listening at. This is made possible
by having calibrated your loudspeakers and
headphones. However, the estimate provided
by Clarity X should be used as a guideline. It
will be more accurate if the loudspeakers and
acoustics of your studio are not coloring the
sound, and if your headphones are voiced to
mimic what your ears receive from a set of
loudspeakers.
Master Fader section
Master Fader parameter
Settings: Absolute, Relative
Use the Master Level parameter to define whether the Master Level on the right pane of the Main
page should be displayed
►► as
an absolute dB value or
►► in
relation to the Reference Level (where e.g.
-6 dB means “6 dB below the Reference Level”).
! For the Master Level display to be shown as
an absolute value, the respective Speaker Setup has to be calibrated and defined as Ready.
! Phone Levels are always shown relative, as
headphones cannot be calibrated.
Criterion Level parameter
Range: 77 to 88 dB
Use the Criterion Level parameter to define the
sound exposure level that should be used as the
basis for Dose % measurements. A higher criterion level means a less conservative Dose %
measure.
! Clarity X continually estimates the SPL, Sound
Exposure Level and Dose, based on the actuClarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)151
Preferences
Calibration Microphone section
Microphone calibration level display
Clarity X comes with a factory-calibrated, phantom power enabled microphone input dedicated for speaker
system calibration and measurements
using the included TC Electronic 3600A
Reference Microphone. The microphone is calibrated at the factory with
94 dB SPL, and the resulting output
voltage – e.g. -42.7 dBV – is noted on
the calibration label on the microphone
along with the date of calibration.
This value should be entered as the Mic Cal Level. As each microphone and a Clarity X unit are
paired at the factory, the calibration value for that
particular microphone is already stored in the
unit as the default value. If future calibrations are
made, the resulting level can be entered using
the Mic Cal Level parameter.
The microphone is carefully calibrated at the
factory and paired with a specific Clarity X that
is calibrated accordingly – but physical factors
such as static pressure, humidity and temperature may affect the precision. For maximum precision, consider using an IEC/EN 60942 Class 1
acoustic calibrator for recalibrating the Clarity X
with the reference microphone.
! The Mic Cal Level is reset when Reset To Defaults on the Frame / System / Setup / Version
is used.
Note: Should you need to replace your microphone (or by mistake swap it with another microphone of the same type), make sure the correct
microphone calibration value is entered using
the Icon application.
Studio Setup section
Studio Setup Enable button
To use Speaker Setups, activate the Studio Setup button.
Fig. 84: Studio Setup active – Speaker Sets
enabled
When Studio Setup is enabled, buttons for three
“Set” pages (Set1, Set2, Set3) will be shown under the Frame tab, which can be configured individually. For more information, see “Speaker Set
configuration” on page 66.
Working with Studio Setups disabled has several
important implications/consequences.
►► You
will not be able to edit/modify Studio Set-
ups.
►► You
will not be able to store Studio Setups
using the Library / Store page. However, you
will be able to recall previously defined Studio
Presets.
►► You
will not able to change output assignments on the Frame / Routing page.
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
Clarity X firmware update
and Device Reset
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
You should keep both the TC Icon software
running on your computer and the software
of your Clarity X (the firmware) up to date.
Using up-to-date software versions ensures you
benefit from bug fixes and the latest features.
Updating the firmware of your Clarity X requires
a computer with the TC Icon software installed.
In TC Icon, you can select a previously downloaded Clarity X firmware file (with a “.tca” suffix)
and apply it to the currently selected Clarity X.
For downloading, installing and updating TC Icon
software, please refer to
►► “Finding
and installing TC Icon software – Microsoft Windows” on page 18 or
►► “Finding
and installing TC Icon software –
OS X” on page 20.
This section describes downloading and installing the Clarity X firmware.
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
Finding and installing Clarity X firmware – Microsoft Windows
You can download the latest version of the Clarity X firmware from:
Depending on your browser type and configuration, a dialog may be shown asking you
what you want to do with this file.
tcelectronic.com/support/software/
this section of the support page, look for
“Firmware” and click the button representing
the latest version of the Clarity X firmware.
the TC Icon software on your PC.
“Save”.
this page, locate the “Clarity X” section.
►► In
your PC to the Clarity X that you
want to update using an Ethernet cable.
►► Launch
►► Choose
►► On
►► Connect
►► In
The software will be downloaded to your
browser’s default download location. Usually,
this is the “Downloads” folder for your user account.
►► In
Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder
containing the ZIP file you just downloaded.
the ZIP file and choose “Extract
All…“ from the context menu.
the TC Icon software, select the Clarity X
that you want to update.
►► Go
to the Frame / System / Setup / Version
page.
Here, you will find the current software version
of your Clarity X (shown as “Clarity X SW Version”). Note this version number.
►► Right-click
A dialog box will allow you to specify where
the extracted files should be stored.
Accept the defaults or change the path. We
suggest changing the path to “C:\TCUPDATE\”.
This will allow you to locate the file in TC Icon
software more easily.
After extracting the ZIP file, you will see a .tca
file in Windows Explorer.
In the next steps, you will select this .tca file in
the TC Icon software to transfer it to Clarity X.
We will assume that you have extracted the content of the ZIP archive to C:\TCUPDATE\.
Fig. 85: Clarity X software on the TC
Electronic software download page
If you have extracted it to another location, you
will have to specify this in the “Common Software Update Folder” field accordingly (see below).
►► Go
to the Frame / System / Setup / Update
page.
►► Click
into the “Common Software Update
Folder” field.
►► Enter
the path to the folder where the downloaded .tca file is located.
Example:
Assuming that…
►► your
hard disk drive has the letter c:\
►► you
extracted the downloaded .tca file to the
folder “TCUPDATE” on the drive root (see previous steps)
…the correct path would be:
C:\TCUPDATE\
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
►► Click
Enter. You will be returned to the previous screen.
The name of the .tca file you downloaded should now be displayed right under the
“Common Software Update Folder” field.
If you want to make sure you have selected the
correct file before applying the update, you can
select the downloaded software file and click
the “File Info” button to display additional information.
►► To
apply the update, select the downloaded
.tca file and click the “Update SW” button.
►► Confirm
that you want to perform the update
by clicking the “Yes” button.
A confirmation message will be shown once
the update has been applied.
Click “OK”.
►► Go
to the Frame / System / Setup / Version
page and note the updated software version.
! Please note that a folder may contain multiple
.tca files, which will be shown on the Frame /
System / Setup / Update page when that folder is selected. Be sure to select the correct file
– usually, the most current one.
! If you experience technical problems during
software download or installation, please ask
a person with administrator privileges on this
PC for assistance.
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
Finding and installing Clarity X firmware – OS X
You can download the latest version of the Clarity X firmware from:
tcelectronic.com/support/software/
On this page, locate the “Clarity X” section.
Depending on your browser type and configuration, a dialog may be shown asking you
what you want to do with this file. Choose
“Save”.
The software will be downloaded to your
browser’s default download location. Usually,
this is the “Downloads” folder for your user account.
►► Go
to the folder containing the file you just
downloaded.
If you are seeing a .ZIP file, double-click it to
extract its contents. However, your browser
may already have extracted the contents from
the .ZIP file automatically.
After the ZIP file has been extracted, you will
see a .tca file in the Finder.
In the next steps, you will select this .tca file in
the TC Icon software to transfer it to Clarity X.
For the first example, we will assume that you
have left the file at its default position (the
“Downloads” folder).
If you have moved the downloaded .tca file
somewhere else, or if you intend to use a .tca
file on a network or USB drive, you will have to
specify the correct path in the “Common Software Update Folder” field of TC Icon software
accordingly (see “Locating the Clarity X firmware
file – example 2” on page 159).
►► Connect
your Mac to the Clarity X that you
want to update using an Ethernet cable.
►► Launch
the TC Icon software on your Mac.
►► In
the TC Icon software, select the Clarity X
that you want to update.
►► Go
to the Frame / System / Setup / Version
page.
Here, you will find the current software version
of your Clarity X (shown as “Clarity X SW Version”). Note this version number.
Fig. 86: Clarity X software on the TC
Electronic software download page
►► In
this section of the support page, look for
“Firmware” and click the button representing
the latest version of the Clarity X firmware.
►► Go
Fig. 87: Clarity X software (.tca) in the OS X
Finder
to the Frame / System / Setup / Update
page.
►► Click
into the “Common Software Update
Folder” field.
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Enter the path to the folder where the downloaded .tca file is located.
Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
Locating and transferring the
Clarity X firmware file – example 1
A confirmation message will be shown once the
update has been applied.
This is a simple default scenario where we assume that…
Click “OK”.
►► your
hard disk drive is called
“Macintosh HD”
Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Version page
and note the updated software version.
►► your
(short) user account name in OS X is
“joe” and
►► you have not moved the .tca file from its down-
load location.
In this case, the correct path to enter in the
“Common Software Update Folder” field is:
/ users / joe / downloads/
►► Click
Enter. You will be returned to the previous screen.
The name of the .tca file you downloaded should now be displayed right under the
“Common Software Update Folder” field.
If you want to make sure you have selected the
correct file before applying the update, you can
select the downloaded software file and click
the “File Info” button to display additional information.
►► To
apply the update, select the downloaded
.tca file and click the “Update SW” button.
►► Confirm
that you want to perform the update
by clicking the “Yes” button.
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
Locating the Clarity X
firmware file – example 2
If you have moved the .tca file to a folder
called “Updates” on an external hard disk called
“DAW2”,the correct path to enter in “Common
Software Update Folder” would be:
// Volumes / DAW2 / Updates /
For the remaining steps, see Example 1.
! Please note that a folder may contain multiple
.tca files, which will be shown on the Frame /
System / Setup / Update page when that folder is selected. Be sure to select the correct file
– usually, the most current one.
! If you experience technical problems during
software download or installation, please ask
a person with administrator privileges on this
Mac for assistance.
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Clarity X firmware update and Device Reset
Resetting your Clarity X
If you need to reset Clarity X, use the Reset
button on the Frame / System / Setup / Version
page.
Fig. 89: Reset to Defaults confirmation
dialog
Fig. 88: Reset to Defaults button on the
Frame / System / Setup / Version page
! The Reset procedure will reset all System,
Studio and Project settings to factory defaults.
This includes the microphone calibration value so any changes you may have made will be
lost. However, your User Presets will not be
deleted.
As the IP address will be reset as well, you may
have to check and update network settings after
a Reset. For more information, see “Networking
basics and troubleshooting” on page 39.
You will be asked to confirm this procedure.
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TC Icon Setup
TC Icon Setup
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This chapter covers screens and parameters of
the TC Icon software not directly related to the
day-to-day operation of your Clarity X.
TC Icon Setup
Accessing the Icon
Setup pages
►► If
it isn’t already, switch the TC
Icon software to Base mode by
clicking the Icon symbol in the
upper left corner of the window
– see “TC Icon modes: Base and
Device operation” on page 47.
In Base Mode, you will see the
Select, Auto and Setup tabs on
the upper edge of the TC Icon
window.
►► Select
Setup.
►► Select
one of the pages described in the following sections of this manual.
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TC Icon Setup
Info page
Fig. 90: Setup – Info page
On this page, the version number of the currently
installed TC Icon software is displayed.
To update the TC Icon software, please refer to
the “Keeping your Clarity X up-to-date” on page
44 section of this manual.
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TC Icon Setup
Devices page
Use this page to detect, control and assign the
devices in your local network.
Detect button
Click the “Detect” button to scan the network for
connected devices. All detected devices will appear in the list.
If you encounter problems when detecting connected devices, please refer to “Networking basics and troubleshooting” on page 39.
Assigning devices to
the available slots
You need to assign a device to a slot of the TC
Icon software to control it. Each instance of the
TC Icon software can control up to eight different devices.
Select a device from the list on the left side of
the screen.
Click one of the eight slots on the right side of
the screen to assign the selected device to this
slot.
Fig. 91: Setup – Devices page
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TC Icon Setup
Security page
On the security page, you can set several features regarding device readouts and operation.
Sticky Clip button
Lock Device UI button
Click the Sticky Clip button to activate or deactivate the Sticky Clip feature.
Click the Lock Device UI button to lock or unlock
the user interfaces of the devices controlled by
the TC Icon software.
When the Sticky Clip feature is activated (button
highlighted) and clock errors or clippings are detected in a device, the red and yellow warning indicators will remain lit until the user presses “Reset Clip” button. This feature ensures that clock
errors or clippings do not go unnoticed.
When the Lock Device UI feature is activated
(button highlighted), the user will be able to see
the settings of the currently selected device, but
he cannot change them. This will be indicated by
a semi-transparent overlay and a “Device UI is
locked” message on all device-related screens.
Fig. 92: Setup – Security page
Fig. 93: Device UI locked
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TC Icon Setup
Joystick page
The MIDI Joystick setup page of the TC Icon
software is not required for operating Clarity X
and is not described in this manual.
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TC Icon Setup
UI (user interface) page
TC Icon Window parameter
Use the TC Icon Window parameter to specify if and where faders should be shown. Three
options are available. Changes on this page will
take effect next time you open the TC Icon software.
Faders at bottom setting
Faders will be positioned right below the main
interface. This is the default setting.
Fig. 94: Setup – UI page
Fader at right side setting
One fader will be positioned to the right of the
main interface.
No faders setting
No faders will be shown on screen.
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TC Icon Setup
Color page
Color Scheme parameter
Color Element parameters
Use the Color Scheme parameter to select a
predefined color scheme. You can select a predefined color scheme from the list or define
your own color scheme using one of the “User
scheme” slots.
Use the Color Element parameters to customize
the colors of the currently selected User scheme.
You can change the colors used for:
►► Background
►► Icon
Panel Front
►► Icon
Panel Back
►► Device
Panel Front
►► Device
Panel Back
Fig. 95: Setup – Color page
Use the parameters on the Color page to define
the TC Icon software’s interface colors.
►► User
Interface Text.
We suggest changing these colors under realistic/typical lighting conditions to make sure the
interface is readable during day-to-day use.
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TC Icon Setup
Changing User scheme colors
To change the color, select a user interface
component in the Color Element list (e.g. Background) and set the three R(ed) G(reen) B(lue)
faders to the desired values.
To apply the new color scheme, click the “Apply
User Scheme” button.
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Appendix 1: Links and additional information
Appendix 1: Links and
additional information
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Appendix 1: Links and additional information
Support resources
TC Electronic on…
TC HD resources
►► TC
►► the
►► TC
►► TC
►► Facebook:
►► TC
Electronic service and warranty:
tcelectronic.com/support/service-warranty/
Electronic Support:
tcelectronic.com/support/
Electronic – product software:
tcelectronic.com/support/software/
web:
tcelectronic.com/
facebook.com/tcelectronic
►► TC
►► Google
►► TC
►► Twitter:
Electronic – all product manuals:
tcelectronic.com/support/manuals/
►► TC
Electronic user forum:
forum.tcelectronic.com/
Plus:
plus.google.com/+tcelectronic/
Electronic | Production:
tcelectronic.com/production/
Electronic | Broadcast:
tcelectronic.com/broadcast/
►► TC
HD products on YouTube:
youtube.com/user/tcelectronicHDaudio/
twitter.com/tcelectronic
►► YouTube:
youtube.com/user/tcelectronic
Product-related
information
►► Clarity X
product information page:
tcelectronic.com/clarity-x/
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Appendix 2: Acoustics
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Introduction
When we talk about making a room “sound
right”, we are usually dealing with room acoustics.
As a science, acoustics has been around for
about a hundred years. Until then, good acoustics happened by experiment, by experience, or
simply by accident. Today, we know a lot more
about the parameters that influence the “sound”
of a room.
A control room should basically act as neutral as
possible. But this is not always the case. Let’s
take a look on some of the issues that we need
to be aware of.
Good acoustics
Reverberation time
Here is a list of important parameters concerning
good acoustics.
The reverberation time is defined as the time until
a sound is attenuated by 60 dB after the source
is stopped.
►► Proper
►► Good
reverberation time
sound distribution
►► Adequate
►► Low
►► No
sound pressure level
In real life, we can experience reverb times from
approximately 0 seconds (outdoors or in anechoic chambers) to around 10 to 12 seconds.
In special reverb chambers, the time may exceed
20 seconds.
background noise level
(flutter) echo
Control rooms should normally have a reverb
time around 0.2 to 0.3 seconds.
Now let us go through these issues one by one.
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Why do we have reverberation?
The speed of the propagating sound wave is
very slow – at least compared to light, which
travels at approximately 1130 feet or 340 meters
per second.
If there are no reflecting surfaces between the
sound source and our ears, only the direct sound
is heard, and there is no reverberation.
Fig. 96: One sound source, one receiver and
no room. Only the direct sound is received.
If there is a single reflecting surface, we may
hear the reflected sound in one way or another –
but there is still no reverberation.
If the sound is generated in a typical room, there
are many reflections. Each of these reflections
travels different paths, with varying distances to
the listener. Each time the sound hits an (absorbing) surface, it will lose some energy.
Fig. 97: One sound source, one receiver,
and one reflecting surface. The sound is
received twice. In the control room, this is
normally experienced as comb filtering – see
later.
Fig. 98: One sound source and one receiver
in a typical room. The sound impulse is
reflected on many surfaces. The reflections
are perceived as reverberation.
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Sabine’s formula
Wallace Clement Sabine (1868-1919) is the father
of modern acoustics. He found that reverberation time is described by a relationship between
the room size and the amount of absorption in
the room. Larger rooms will have longer reverberation. More absorption leads to shorter reverberation. This can be expressed in Sabine’s
formula:
T = 0.161 * V / A
where:
►► T:
Reverberation time in seconds
►► V:
Volume in m3
►► A:
Absorption in m2 Sabine
The basic formula sounds simple – but the problem is that the materials in the room will absorb
differently at different frequencies. The absorption may range from nothing (fully reflective) to
total absorption.
A proper reverb time should be constant with frequency, but this is not always the case because
of the behavior of the materials in the room. The
low frequencies are the hardest to control. This
is why the reverberation time against frequency
in practice may look like this:
►► 0.161:
A constant (to adapt the calculation to
the actual units)
One square meter (1 m2) Sabine is comparable to
an open window with an area of one square meter. The sound that hits this hypothetical window
will disappear and never return. In other words:
One square meter Sabine is one square meter
with full absorption.
Fig. 99: Reverberation time measured in a
control room. From 250 Hz and above, the
curve is nicely placed around 0.3 seconds.
But for lower frequencies, the reverb time
rises to 0.75 seconds, which is too much.
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Absorbers
All materials in a room act acoustically – even if
they are not so-called “acoustical materials”. Basically, there are three kinds of absorbers:
Membrane absorbers
Resonance absorbers
Porous absorbers
Resonance absorbers include slit panels, perforated plates, Helmholtz resonators etc. These
absorbers are normally used for midrange frequencies. The absorption is medium to high.
These absorbers include mineral wool, carpets,
curtains, and so on. They can be very effective,
but the thickness of the material has to be taken into account. Thin layers will only absorb the
highest frequencies. Think of a rehearsal room
in a concrete basement where the only damping
is a carpet on the floor – this will do very little for
low frequencies!
This class of absorber includes wooden floors,
windows, doors, etc. These absorbers provide
absorption in the low end of the frequency range.
Under normal conditions, large areas of a basic
room belong to this class. While their efficiency is normally not very high, specially designed
membrane absorbers can be very effective.
Fig. 101: Resonance absorbers
To absorb a given frequency (and all frequencies
above), the thickness of the absorber must be
the quarter of the wavelength of that frequency.
Put differently: The front of the material must be
placed at a distance of one quarter of the wavelength.
Fig. 100: Membrane absorbers
Fig. 102: Porous absorbers
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Diffusors
A diffusor provides diffuse reflection of the
sound radiated against it. Diffusers can be very
useful in situations where reflections are disturbing the sound image and it is not advisory to add
further absorption. So in order to reduce flutter
echoes, comb filtering etc., special elements can
be placed on the “disturbing” surface. These elements must have dimensions comparable to the
frequencies at which diffusion is wanted.
Absorption or diffusion?
Fig. 103: Absorption versus diffusion
A special technique developed by Manfred
Schroeder is very capable in making a smooth
and controlled diffusion. These “Schroeder Diffusors” are available as prefab modules.
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Standing waves
Standing waves exist in all kind of rooms. Important parameters that will determine the frequencies around which the phenomenon exists as well as the distribution of these standing
waves are the shape of the room, the dimensions
of the room, and the relationship between the dimensions of the room.
How do standing waves occur?
Imagine a sound source. When a sound is emitted, the sound wave will propagate in all directions if no obstacles in sight. This will of course
happen with the speed of sound.
Now, if the sound source is placed inside a room,
the sound wave will hit the boundaries of the
room. If the boundaries consist of acoustically
hard (reflective) surfaces, the sound is reflected.
If the angle of incidence is 90º, the sound will be
reflected right back where it came from. Under
certain circumstances – for instance if the sound
is reflected between two parallel walls –, the
sound wave will meet itself again. This becomes
a problem when the sound wave not only meets
itself, but when it meets itself in phase. And this
will happen when the distance between the walls
is half a wavelength of the radiated sound wave.
Or one whole wavelength – or 1.5, 2, 2.5 and so
on.
Fig. 104: The sound field is initially radiated
exposing a radial wave front – but within a
few reflections, the sound field has obtained
a plane wave front.
This phenomenon is called standing waves. Actually, the sound wave is not “standing”. But it is
experienced as that because the sound pressure
maxima and minima are located in fixed places
in the room.
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Room modes
These special frequencies are also called room
modes. Standing waves between parallel walls
are called axial modes. Other modes exist – for
instance, tangential modes and radial modes
(see the following illustrations). Normally, the axial modes are the strongest.
Appendix 2: Acoustics
Standing waves are characterized by having a
maximum sound pressure at the boundaries of
the room. Depending on the frequency there are
one or more dips across the room.
In a box-shaped room, the frequencies can be
calculated as follows:
Fig. 108: Maxima of standing waves
where
Fig. 105: Room modes: Axial modes
►► f
= frequency in Hz
►► c
= speed of sound (approx. 340 m/s or
1130 ft/s)
►► l
= length of the room
Fig. 106: Room modes: Tangential modes
►► w
= width of the room
►► h
= height of the room
►► n
= integer from 0 and up
The curves shown here express the area of the
room where the respective frequency is audible.
At the minima, that frequency’s level is much
lower (sometimes -40 dB compared to the maximum).
If the room’s length, width and even height are
identical, obtaining an even sound distribution
can be very hard.
Fig. 107: Room modes: Radial modes
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Prohibiting standing waves
Parallel walls in the room should be prevented.
This will suppress the strongest modes.
When placing monitors, it is important that as
few modes as possible are excited. This is why
no monitor should be placed at the maximum of
a standing wave.
Appendix 2: Acoustics
When the monitor is placed close to a solid
boundary (for instance a wall), the sound energy
that should have been radiated in the direction
of the wall is radiated into the free half space instead. Hence the sound pressure is doubled in
the half space, which yields +6 dB. This is also
called a 2 π radiation.
When the monitor is placed against three boundaries (for instance in a corner limited by the floor
and two walls), the sound is radiated into 1/8 of
the space. Compared to free space, the sound
pressure now is increased by 18 dB. This is also
called π/2 radiation.
In practice, placing a monitor close to boundaries will influence the frequency range below 125
to 150 Hz.
When monitors are built into walls, you should
therefore make sure that the opposite wall is not
parallel to the wall with the monitor.
At low frequencies, a monitor can be considered
as radiating its sound energy in all directions.
This is also called a 4 π radiation.
Fig. 110: 2 π radiation
Fig. 112: π/2 radiation
When the monitor is placed against two boundaries (for instance in a corner limited by two
walls), it is now radiating its energy to the quarter space. Accordingly, the sound pressure is
doubled twice, which yields +12 dB. This is also
called a π radiation.
Fig. 109: 4 π radiation
Fig. 111: π radiation
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)180
Appendix 2: Acoustics
Comb filtering
The filtering function that arises when a signal is
added to itself after having been delayed in time
is called a comb filter.
Acoustically, comb filter effects typically occur
when part of the sound travels from source to
recipient both on a direct path and via a single
reflective surface. This reflection must be attenuated at least 10 dB and preferably 15 dB in order
for it not to have an effect on the sound field at
the recipient’s position. Electrically, the phenomenon arises when two microphones with a certain distance between them capture the same
signal and the level from each microphone is of
the same order of magnitude.
The resulting frequency response resembles a
comb, hence the name.
Fig. 113: Two 500 Hz sinusoidal tones added.
The second tone is delayed 1 millisecond,
hence the sum is zero.
Fig. 114: Two 1 kHz sinusoidal tones added.
The summed level is doubled (+6 dB).
The comb filter function is almost never intentional – but it is heard all the time in audio productions, where it can arise both for acoustical
and electrical reasons.
Fig. 115: Two typical situations in which
comb filtering occurs, either acoustically or
electrically
Generally speaking, all digital signal processing
takes time. This means in practice that comb filter effects can arise if you send a signal through
a signal processor and combine the processed
(and hence delayed) signal with the original.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)181
Appendix 2: Acoustics
Dip frequencies
Cancellation occurs for a comb filter at all the
frequencies where the two signals are in opposite phase. This occurs when the time delay
comprises duration of 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 etc. periods.
At 1 kHz, the period is 1 millisecond. Half of the
period is 0.5 milliseconds.
If a time delay of precisely 0.5 millisecond occurs, this will result in cancellation not only at
1 kHz, but also at 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4 kHz etc.
Fig. 116: An example of a comb filter effect
created by combining two signals with the
same amplitude and a one millisecond
delay between them. Dips occur due to
cancellation at 500 Hz, 1.5 kHz, 2.5 kHz etc.,
and the two signals’ levels double (+6 dB) at
low frequencies with a full wavelength’s delay
at 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz etc.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)182
Appendix 2: Acoustics
Rear wall cancellation
When the monitor is set up at some distance in
front of a wall, reflections from the wall may occur and influence the perceived frequency response. This could result in comb filtering if all
frequencies produced by the monitor were radiated in all directions. But monitors are typically
only omnidirectional at low frequencies.
The dip – or cancellation frequency – depends
on the distance to the wall. If the distance is 1
meter, the first dip frequency will occur at a frequency with a wavelength of 4 meters.
l=c/f
where
The result of the reflection is a single or a few
dips in the frequency response perceived in front
of the monitor.
►► l
= wavelength [meters or feet)
►► c
= speed of sound (meters/second or feet/
second)
►► f
= frequency [Hz]
Hence
►► 4 = 344 / f
Fig. 117: A frequency (F) that has a
wavelength of four times the distance to
the rear wall is canceled because of the
oppositely phased reflection.
►► f
= 86 Hz
A closer position will result in a cancellation at a
higher frequency. This is then limited by the frequency where the monitor becomes directional
and does rot radiate sound to the rear.
A farther position will result in cancellation at a
lower frequency. This is limited by the distance
being so long, that the reflected sound is attenuated due to the long extra path travel.
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Subwoofers
A subwoofer is a monitor that reproduces low
frequencies. The purpose is to take over from
the main monitor(s) as frequencies approach the
lower end of the frequency range – approximately below 120 Hz. For professional monitor systems, it is commonly preferred to use subwoofers below approximately 80 Hz – but of course,
the best solution depends on the performance of
the main monitors.
The low frequency contents of just one or all the
main channels can be directed to one subwoofer.
Psychoacoustics tells us that there is no directional information in audio signals below approximately 120 Hz. Accordingly, a subwoofer should
be placed in a position where the best distribution is achieved.
However, it is very important to reduce subwoofer distortion to an absolute minimum, because
distortion will add harmonics (2, 3, 4 etc. times
the frequency reproduced). Especially the third
harmonic may dominate the signal. Reproducing a frequency of 100 Hz can result in the generation of an audible frequency component at
300 Hz, which presents directional information
to the human hearing system.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)184
Appendix 2: Acoustics
Bass management
Bass management is a very important and useful
tool – and it is in general an absolute necessity
if you want to work with a five channel setup in
a small room. Bass management system s are
designed to subtract the bass contents from all
main channels and reproduce it using a subwoofer.
Fig. 118: Basic bass management setup
Checking summing
phase cancellation
In a basic two channel setup or a five channel setup (such as ITU-775), a subwoofer is not
specified and is not required. But when creating
audio that should be played back using consumer equipment, one has to ensure that the mix
will sound right in this situation. Many consumer
setups today contain a subwoofer. Accordingly,
it is very important to check what bass summing
will sound like. If the program material basically
is out of phase, the bass will be canceled when
summed electrically. But this is not the case if
the bass signals are reproduced by the main
monitors and summed acoustically. The difference can be dramatic!
Controlling standing waves
It can already be difficult to position two monitors correctly in order to prevent the excitation of
the standing waves. But placing five monitors is
even more difficult.
In theory, each monitor should play under the
same conditions – but this is rarely the case.
Three front monitors can normally be placed
away from disturbing boundaries to prohibit the
excitation of the standing waves. But in small
rooms, the rear monitors are very often placed
in corners or on a wall. Having the full frequency
range reproduced from such monitors may lead
to serious problems, resulting in poor low frequency distribution in the room. This is another
reason for using bass management.
Simply put: When working with bass management, only one monitor – the subwoofer – has
to be placed in a “safe” position. The crossover
frequency can be set to a value just above the
problematic frequency range.
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
The LFE Channel
LFE is an abbreviation for “Low Frequency Enhancement” or “Low Frequency Effects”. While
the first is the original name, the second is more
correct with regards to its main applications.
LFE is also referred to as the “.1 channel”, which
indicates that the frequency range of this channel is only a fraction of the other channels in a
multi channel setup. The actual frequency range
is 20 Hz to 120 Hz.
When reproduced, the LFE signal is gained by
10 dB compared to the main channels. This
provides a possibility of reproducing occasional high-level low frequency contents without
affecting the general level setting of the main
channels.
Signals being sent to the LFE channel should always be evaluated carefully, as not all transmission or reproduction systems may include this
channel. In music production and mixing, there
is usually no need for using this channel.
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)186
Appendix 2: Acoustics
Delaying monitors
ITU 775
Cinema setup
When using a 5.x setup with monitors arranged
on a circle (as with ITU 775), the distance from
the listener to each of the main monitors is the
same.
In a cinema setup, the front monitors are always
arranged on a straight line. Here, the audience is
closer to the surround monitor(s) than to the front
monitors. In order to retain the directional information towards the screen, the surround monitors are delayed.
If space is limited, the three front monitors can
be arranged on a straight line instead of a circle.
To compensate the center monitor being closer
to the listener than the left and right monitor in
this setup, the center signal can be delayed. To
obtain coincident arrival of the sound from all
front monitors, a delay between 0 and 3 milliseconds is used for compensation.
The speed of sound is approximately 340 m/s or
1130 ft./s. Accordingly, approximately 1 millisecond delay will be used to virtually move the monitor 1 foot or 30 centimeters backwards.
Normally the psychoacoustic Haas effect is taken into account. In the listening position, the
sound from the surround monitors will arrive
about 15 to 20 milliseconds after the sound from
the front monitors. The delay times involved with
cinema processing for the surround channel is
dependent on the size of the mixing facility, the
cinema, or the home theatre/living room. Proper
setup requires calculating the difference in distance between the front monitors and the closest surround monitor. Then, the time difference
is calculated. To this, 15 to 20 milliseconds are
added.
Example: From a listening position, the distance
to the front monitors is 20 meters and five meters
to the surround monitors, so the difference is (20
- 5 =) 15 meters. The time difference that needs
to be compensated is 15/340 sec, which equals
0,044 seconds or 44 milliseconds. To this value,
15 milliseconds are added. Accordingly, the surround signal has to be delayed 59 milliseconds
(or the closest possible value).
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Line-up and calibration
Acoustic summation of audio signals
Acoustic calibration of multichannel systems
When summing two sound sources (for example,
two monitors), the resulting total sound level depends on both the signal and the acoustics. The
sound sources can be correlated or uncorrelated. The listening position (or measurement position) can be either in the direct sound field or in
the diffuse sound field.
In the direct sound field, there is only one sound
direction. This direct field exists either in the
open, in a reflection-free room or close to the
monitors.
The diffuse sound field occurs in a room when
you are so far away from the monitors that the
portion of direct sound is less than the sum of all
the reflections.
Fig. 119: Correlated (left) and uncorrelated
(right) signals
When working with sound for film, calibration of
the acoustic sound levels has been a requirement for many years, but it has not been particularly common in other branches of the sound
industry. However, with the widespread use of
multi-channel formats for all forms of music and
film presentation in the home, the benefits of
controlling levels have become obvious in recent
years.
It is important to differentiate between production for the cinema and production for 5.1 channel reproduction in the home based upon ITU
775.
The distance from the monitors where the direct
sound field and the diffuse sound field are equally large is called the critical distance. In a control
room, it can typically be 1 to 3 meters. The near
field in front of the monitors can be regarded as
a direct field.
If all monitors are in phase, the sum of the sound
pressure from two monitors playing at the same
level is 3 dB – unless the signals are correlated
(identical) and the sum is measured in the direct
field. In this case, the resulting sound pressure
level is 6 dB higher than the level of the individual monitors.
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Calibration of 5.1 in an ITU775 arrangement
Surround Sound Forum
SMPTE
Surround Sound Forum is a German interest
group composed of the VDT (Verband Deutscher
Tonmeister; Association of German Sound Engineers), the Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT)
and the Schule für Rundfunktechnik (SRT). The
SSF has prepared calibration guidelines, which
are generally accepted in Europe. They specify
three test signal, which are recorded at -18 dBFS
(RMS).
The corresponding SMPTE standard (RP155)
uses a standard of -20 dBFS for the reference
level. Here, the C-weighted sound pressure level
of a 500 to 2 kHz noise signal ends up at 83 dB.
RMS level
Sound pressure level
SLOW
Sound pressure level
SLOW
1 kHz sine
Pink noise
20 Hz to 20 kHz
Pink noise
200 Hz to 20 kHz
PPM level
t < 10 ms
Signal (only in
one channel)
PPM level
t < 0,1 ms
In a 5.1 system based on the ITU arrangement,
all main channels are operated under the same
conditions: There is one monitor per channel,
and each monitor is placed at the same distance
from the listener. However, there is no international agreement on the level or the bandwidth
of the noise signals that should be used for
acoustic calibration. Pink noise is a good starting point, as it includes all frequencies. However,
it is impractical due to its “unsettled” character,
which makes it difficult to measure at low frequencies.
Appendix 2: Acoustics
[dB]
-18
-9
[dB]
-18
-13
[dB]
-18
-18
[dB]
[dB(A)]
82
78
-11
-15
-20
80
78
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Appendix 2: Acoustics
Calibration of cinema systems
In a cinema, the listeners are sitting far from the
monitors. Presumably, the majority sits in the diffuse sound field. Attempts are made to establish
a diffuse sound field from the surround monitors.
Accordingly, when the sound pressure is measured inside the cinema or in a mixing theatre, it
must be averaged over many different measurement locations. The typical basis for the majority
of the standards is measuring at four or more locations. If there are different areas for the audience (for example main floor and balcony), measurements should be made in at least four locations in each area. Before these measurements
can be made, the system’s frequency response
must also be in order.
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Technical specifications
Technical specifications
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)191
MADI License Option
Frame Configuration
Front Indicators/Control
Finish
Dimensions
Weight
Mains Voltage
Fan
Power Consumption
Warranty, Parts and Labor
EMC
Complies with
Safety
Certified to
Environment
Operating Temperature
Storage Temperature
Humidity
Control interface
Ethernet and TC Icon Remote Control
Clarity X Remote Control
Clarity X Remote Control
Controls
Finish
Dimensions
Weight
Max cable length
General Processing
Number of Meters
Technical specifications
Clarity X with Clarity X Remote Control and 3600A Reference Microphone
Status LED: Running, Net, Remote and Sync. IP address reset button.
Black anodized aluminum face plate. Plated steel chassis
19 x 1.75 x 13.2 inches (483 x 44 x 334 mm), 1 RU
9.0 lbs. (4.7 kg)
100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz auto-select
High quality fan
20 W typ
2 years
EN 55103-1 and EN 55103-2, FCC part 15 class B, CISPR 22 class B
IEC 60065, EN 60065, UL 6500 and CSA E65
32° F to 122° F (0° C to 50° C)
-22° F to 167° F (-30° C to 70° C)
Max. 90 % non-condensing
2 ports, RJ45, 10/100 Mbits/s, Base-T, SNMP-enabled
RJ45 connector
12 buttons with LEDs, 1 “Valid” LED, 1 high-end potentiometer
Black anodized aluminum face plate. Glass blasted anodized chassis
4.8 x 3.0 x 1.9 inches (122 x 77 x 48 mm)
0.7 lbs. (0.3 kg)
100 m using a standard microphone cable
2 x LM8 Loudness Radar Meters, 2 x True-peak Meters, SPL Meter, Dose Meter, Stereo Deviation Meter, Center Ratio Meter
Input Audio Format
2.0, 5.1, 7.1
Output Speakerset Configuration 44.1 to 48 kHz: 7 channel surround + 0 or 1 subwoofer, 7 channel surround + 0 or 1 subwoofer, Stereo + 0 to 2 subwoofers
Output Speakerset Configuration 44.1 to 96 kHz: 5 channel surround + 0 to 2 subwoofers, Stereo + 0 subwoofers, Stereo + 0 subwoofers
Number of Audio Channels Processed
8 in, 8 out
Audio Processing Delay
100 samples, 2.08 ms @ 48 kHz (digital in to digital out)
Adjustable On-line Delay
0 to 1000 msec. Unit: ms, frames 24, 25, 30, 50, 50. Resolution: 1 ms or 0.1 frames
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)192
Adjustable Per-Speaker Delay
Speaker Calibration Standard
Total Speaker Calibration Precision
Inter-speaker-channel Calibration Precision
SPL measurement
Frequency Response DIO
Audio Processing Resolution
Internal Sample Rates
Internal Clock Precision
External Sample Rates
Interface Function
Digital IO Engine
Jitter Rejection Engine
Jitter Tolerance (input)
Jitter Rejection Low-Pass Filter
Jitter Gain (in-to-out)
Output Jitter (@ clean source)
AES Input / Output
Connectors
Number of Channels
Formats Supported
Status Bits
Complies with Standards
Digital Output Phase
Input Variation Before Sample Slip
Input Signal Tolerance
Output Signal Level
TOS Input
Format
Type
Number of Channels
Input Variation Before Sample Slip
Analog Output
Connectors
Number of Channels
Format
Output Impedance
Full Scale Output Level @ 0 dBFS
Technical specifications
0 to 100 msec. Resolution: 10 usec
EBU R128, SMPTE RP200, ATSC A85
±0.5 dB
±0.05 dB
48 dB(A) to 130 dB(A)
DC to 23.9 kHz ±0.01 dB
40 bit precision, bit transparent
44.1, 48 kHz, 96 kHz
±30 PPM
Same as internal ±1.5 %
Synchronous, bit transparent
TC developed DICE™ core
Upgraded JET™ technology. Based on System 6000
> AES3-2009 (master and slave input)
< -3 dB @ 10 Hz, < -100 dB @ 600 Hz, 4th order
< 1 dB
< 1 ns peak, BW: 700 Hz to 100 kHz
D-SUB-25 incl. cable for XLR, 110 Ohm, Yamaha pinout, M2.6mm thread
16 in, 16 out
AES/EBU (24 bit), AES3
In: Accepts all, Out: Pro-status bits
AES3-2009
< 0.5 % of sample period
±49.9 % of sample period
0.2 to 7 Vpp
3.3 Vpp ±20 %, terminated
AES/EBU (24 bit), S/PDIF (24 bit), EIAJ CP-340, IEC 60958
Optical Tos-link
2
±49.9 % of sample period
D-SUB-25, Yamaha/Tascam pinout, M2.6mm thread
8 out
Ground sensing design
20 Ohm
+12 dBu max, with analog -18 dB DIM
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)193
Dynamic Range
THD+N
Freq Response
Crosstalk
D to A Conversion
D to A Delay
Headphones Output
Connectors
Format
Output Impedance
Headphones Impedance
Full Scale Output Level @ 0 dBFS
THD+N
Dynamic Range
Freq. Response
Crosstalk
Power
Technical specifications
> 121 dB (incl. -18 dB DIM), unweighted, BW 20 to 20kHz
< -99 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS (@ +12dBu), < -96 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS (@ -18 dB DIM)
20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0/-0.2 dB
< -102 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
24 bit, 128 x Oversampling Bitstream
21 samples, 0.44 ms @ 48 kHz
1/4” Phone Jack (stereo)
High drive, Impedance Compensating, Short circuit protected
3.4 Ohm
8 to 600 Ohm
+21.5, +17.5, +12.5, +6.5 dBu (different headphones impedance settings)
< -93 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS, 275 Ohm load (“>275 Ohm” headphones impedance setting)
< -86 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS, 50 Ohm load (“50 to 300 Ohm” headphones impedance setting)
< -86 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS, 25 Ohm load (“25 to 100 Ohm” headphones impedance setting)
< -75 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS, 8 Ohm load (“8 to 50 Ohm” headphones impedance setting)
> 109 dB, unweighted, BW 20 Hz to 20 kHz (all headphones impedance settings)
+0/-0.2 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
< -102 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
112 mW @ 600 Ohm load (“>275 Ohm” headphones impedance setting)
263 mW @ 32 Ohm load (“25 to 100 Ohm” headphones impedance setting)
24 bit, 128 x Oversampling Bitstream
21 samples, 0.44 ms @ 48 kHz
D to A Conversion
D to A Delay
Aux Input
Connectors
1/8” Phone Jack (unbalanced, stereo)
Input Impedance
500 Ohm
Full Scale Input Level @ 0 dBFS
+5 dBu
THD+N
< -98 dB @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS
Dynamic Range
> 105 dB, unweighted, BW 20 to 20 kHz
Freq. Response
+0/-0.1 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Crosstalk
< -75 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
A to D Conversion
24 bit, 128 x Oversampling Bitstream
A to D Delay
29 samples, 0.60 ms @ 48 kHz
Calibrated Microphone and Microphone Input
Model Number
TC Electronic, 3600A Reference Microphone. Microphone holder included (5/8” and 3/8”)
Characteristic
Omni, Random Incident optimized in DSP
System Complies with Standard
IEC 61672 (where applicable)
Maximum microphone cable length
100 m
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MADI License Option
Connectors
Function
Number of channels
Samples Rates
Complies with Standards
Digital Output Phase
Input Variation Before Sample Slip
Input Signal Tolerance
Output Signal Level
Technical specifications
1 BNC In, 1 BNC Through. 75 Ohm
Audio input and MADI through
28, 32, 56, 64 in
44.1, 48 kHz, 96 kHz, no Varispeed supported, 96 kHz legacy mode not supported
AES10-2008 r2014
< 0.5 % of sample period
± 25 % of sample period
Complies to AES10-2008 r2014
Complies to AES10-2008 r2014
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)195
Image list
Image list
Fig. 110: 2 π radiation
180
Fig. 109: 4 π radiation
180
Fig. 103: Absorption versus diffusion
177
Fig. 117: A frequency (F) that has a wavelength
of four times the distance to the rear wall is
canceled because of the oppositely phased
reflection.
183
Fig. 116: An example of a comb filter effect
created by combining two signals with the same
amplitude and a one millisecond delay between
them. Dips occur due to cancellation at 500 Hz,
1.5 kHz, 2.5 kHz etc., and the two signals’ levels
double (+6 dB) at low frequencies with a full
wavelength’s delay at 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz etc. 182
Fig. 20: Assigning Clarity X in TC Icon
43
Fig. 24: Assigning Clarity X in TC Icon
51
Fig. 34: Audio formats and Bass Management
modes – overview
69
Fig. 35: Audio formats and Bass Management
modes – overview ctd.
70
Fig. 80: Auto Logging – Log Select page, with
meter M2 enabled for logging
144
Fig. 81: Auto Logging – Log Setup page
145
Fig. 12: Balanced to unbalanced – proper wiring 34
Fig. 118: Basic bass management setup
185
Fig. 33: Bass Management page, Bass
Management set to Extract
68
Fig. 39: Calibrating the right speaker in a 5.1
setup to EBU R128
80
Fig. 11: Clarity X back panel connectors (shown
with optional MADI ports)
33
Fig. 62: Clarity X Dose Meter and Dose Reset
button as seen in the right pane of the TC Icon
Main View
118
Fig. 61: Clarity X Dose Meter showing “Not Cal”
for a Speaker Setup not declared as Ready
117
Fig. 9: Clarity X front panel
30
Fig. 10: Clarity X front panel indicators
30
Fig. 8: Clarity X hardware options: With MADI
(top) and without MADI (bottom)
28
Fig. 79: Clarity X log file header
142
Fig. 52: Clarity X Main View – input and output
panes showing Page 1
105
Fig. 53: Clarity X Main View – input and output
panes showing Page 2
105
Fig. 54: Clarity X Main View, left pane, page 1
showing the Radar Meter and Source overview,
Stereo Deviation Meter and Center Ratio Meter 106
Fig. 55: Clarity X Main View, left pane, page 2
showing Radar statistics, True Peak Meter and
Source overview, Stereo Deviation Meter and
Center Ratio Meter
108
Fig. 56: Clarity X Main View, right pane, page 1
showing the current speaker set, the Dose Meter,
the Speaker Set overview, and various status
indicators
109
Fig. 57: Clarity X Main View, right pane, page 2
showing the Dose Meter, the Reset Dose button,
the Speaker Set selection buttons and various
status indicators
111
Fig. 68: Clarity X Remote Control
122
Fig. 7: Clarity X signal flow diagram. For more
information on a section, please click or tap the
respective part of the diagram.
26
Fig. 1: Clarity X software on the TC Electronic
software download page
18
Fig. 2: Clarity X software on the TC Electronic
software download page
20
Fig. 85: Clarity X software on the TC Electronic
software download page
155
Fig. 86: Clarity X software on the TC Electronic
software download page
157
Fig. 87: Clarity X software (.tca) in the OS X
Finder
157
Fig. 26: Clarity X Status page
55
Fig. 18: Confirmation of Clarity X reboot
42
Fig. 17: Confirmation of new Clarity X IP address 42
Fig. 19: Connecting Clarity X to a computer via
Ethernet
43
Fig. 119: Correlated (left) and uncorrelated (right)
signals
188
Fig. 93: Device UI locked
165
Fig. 67: Dose Meter – critical dose
120
Fig. 64: Dose Meter in the green
119
Fig. 66: Dose Meter in the red
120
Fig. 65: Dose Meter over 99%
120
Fig. 63: Dose Meter reset
119
Fig. 70: Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT) for
consumers in different listening situations
127
Fig. 58: Edit / Format page
113
Fig. 69: Edit / Remote page
124
Fig. 82: Edit – Setup – M1 page
147
Fig. 5: Ejecting the TC Icon disk image
21
Fig. 16: Entering a new Clarity X IP address
41
Fig. 36: EQ page with Band 3 deactivated and
Band 5 selected for editing
74
Fig. 22: Fader label (two triangles) indicating
Fine adjustment mode for the currently selected
parameter (Delay)
48
Fig. 37: Frame / Phones page
76
Fig. 27: Frame / Routing page
59
Fig. 40: Frame / Set 1 / Cal page
82
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)196
Fig. 21: Icon symbol
47
Fig. 46: Info display for M2 preset
93
Fig. 30: I/O setup – Clock page
61
Fig. 31: I/O Setup – MADI page
65
Fig. 38: Level differences when mixing at different
sound pressure levels
79
Fig. 49: Library Bank page
97
Fig. 48: Library Project Delete page
96
Fig. 44: Library Studio Recall page
93
Fig. 47: Library Studio Store page
94
Fig. 75: LM8 Main page
134
Fig. 73: LM8 Radar
129
Fig. 74: LM8 Radar page
131
Fig. 76: LM8 Setup page
138
Fig. 77: LM8 Statistics page
140
Fig. 78: Log page with two log files
141
Fig. 45: M2 Preset Recall button with Info tag
93
Fig. 50: Main Edit page
99
Fig. 108: Maxima of standing waves
179
Fig. 100: Membrane absorbers
176
Fig. 4: Moving TC Icon to the OS X applications
folder
20
Fig. 15: Network identification page in TC Icon
software
41
Fig. 59: Noise Floor Zoom
115
Fig. 60: Noise-induced hearing loss risks
117
Fig. 98: One sound source and one receiver in a
typical room. The sound impulse is reflected on
many surfaces. The reflections are perceived as
reverberation.
174
Fig. 96: One sound source, one receiver and no
room. Only the direct sound is received.
174
Fig. 97: One sound source, one receiver, and one
reflecting surface. The sound is received twice. In
the control room, this is normally experienced as
comb filtering – see later.
174
Fig. 14: OS X Network preferences
40
Image list
Fig. 6: OS X security warning about application
from an unidentified developer
21
Fig. 42: Overview of the Clarity X data structure 89
Fig. 43: Overview of the Clarity X data structure
in TC Icon
89
Fig. 71: Peak level normalization
127
Fig. 102: Porous absorbers
176
Fig. 83: Preferences page
150
Fig. 88: Reset to Defaults button on the Frame /
System / Setup / Version page
160
Fig. 89: Reset to Defaults confirmation dialog 160
Fig. 101: Resonance absorbers
176
Fig. 99: Reverberation time measured in a
control room. From 250 Hz and above, the
curve is nicely placed around 0.3 seconds. But
for lower frequencies, the reverb time rises to
0.75 seconds, which is too much.
175
Fig. 105: Room modes: Axial modes
179
Fig. 107: Room modes: Radial modes
179
Fig. 106: Room modes: Tangential modes
179
Fig. 28: Routing an input channel to a Source
Module channel
59
Fig. 29: Routing a Speaker Set channel to a
physical output channel
59
Fig. 95: Setup – Color page
168
Fig. 91: Setup – Devices page
164
Fig. 90: Setup – Info page
163
Fig. 25: Setup – No devices detected
53
Fig. 92: Setup – Security page
165
Fig. 94: Setup – UI page
167
Fig. 41: Signals for the left and right speakers
delayed by 2.4 ms to compensate for the center
speaker being 80 cm closer to the listener
85
Fig. 32: Speaker Set Configuration page for
Speaker Setup 1
66
Fig. 84: Studio Setup active – Speaker Sets
enabled
152
Fig. 72: Target loudness based on a consumer’s
Dynamic Range Tolerance
128
Fig. 3: TC Icon software app icon
20
Fig. 23: TC Icon software – On-screen keyboard 49
Fig. 104: The sound field is initially radiated
exposing a radial wave front – but within a few
reflections, the sound field has obtained a plane
wave front.
178
Fig. 51: Tone page
102
Fig. 114: Two 1 kHz sinusoidal tones added. The
summed level is doubled (+6 dB).
181
Fig. 113: Two 500 Hz sinusoidal tones added. The
second tone is delayed 1 millisecond, hence the
sum is zero.
181
Fig. 115: Two typical situations in which comb
filtering occurs, either acoustically or electrically181
Fig. 13: Windows Internet control panel
40
Fig. 112: π/2 radiation
180
Fig. 111: π radiation
180
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)197
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)198
Clarity X software version 1.2.00 – Build 3206 – Reference manual (updated 2015-10-02)199